When ozone concentrations exceed the information threshold of 180 µg/m³ (micrograms of ozone per cubic meter of air), it is necessary to inform the public about the situation. However, the exceedance in Oeiras, at the Quinta do Marquês monitoring station, of 193 µg/m³, did not lead to any public notice, the association warns in a statement.
Based on air quality models and the high concentrations already recorded on Saturday, Zero considers it likely that new exceedances will be recorded today in the North coastal region and possibly also in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region.
The limits of ozone concentration in the air are established by law in Portugal, ranging from the target value, defined as 120 µg/m³, the level sought to protect human health and the environment, to the information threshold and the alert threshold, defined for concentration levels that can cause adverse health effects.
The health effects of short-term exposure to high concentrations of ozone include lung damage and inflammation of the respiratory tract, increased coughing, and a higher likelihood of asthma attacks, posing a particular risk to children, the elderly, and people with respiratory diseases.
Precautions for high concentrations include staying indoors or in other enclosed spaces and avoiding intense physical activity.
The association advocates that in the event of exceedances, warnings should be issued by SMS by Civil Protection, justifying that the exceedances to the thresholds have a short period (between one hour to a few hours) and that warnings must be quickly and effectively transmitted to the population through the media.
More importantly, it emphasizes, is to leave advance warnings to the population in case of a strong probability of exceedances occurring, with Zero advocating in both cases that information transmission be complemented by SMS alerts from the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority to mobile phones in affected areas.
Noting that the population can check ozone levels measured through the air quality monitoring network on the Portuguese Environment Agency’s website, Zero warns that in the case of air quality monitoring stations in Alentejo, this information is not available.
