Between January and May 2026, eleven Madrid stations have managed to stay below the new annual threshold of 20 micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m3) of NO2. These include Villaverde, Casa de Campo, Moratalaz, Barrio del Pilar, Castellana, Retiro, Plaza de Castilla, Sanchinarro, El Pardo, Juan Carlos I, and Tres Olivos. Municipal sources describe these readings as the most favorable in the historical series.
The improvement is significant compared to previous years. During the same period in 2025, only five stations recorded levels below 20 ug/m3. In 2019, just the El Pardo station met this requirement, while eleven stations exceeded 40 ug/m3, with Plaza Elíptica and Escuelas Aguirre reaching peaks of 62 and 60 ug/m3 respectively.
Currently, no point in the municipal monitoring network has surpassed 30 ug/m3 so far in 2026, a figure that remains 10 points below the EU's current annual limit. This compliance with the 40 ug/m3 cap has been continuous since 2022. The year 2017 was the most critical of the last decade, with 15 stations exceeding the legal maximum.
The Madrid City Council attributes this decrease in NO2 to the measures implemented by the current Government team, through the Department of Urbanism, Environment, and Mobility, within the framework of the Madrid 360 Environmental Sustainability Strategy, launched in September 2019.
Among the highlighted initiatives are the Air Quality and Sustainability Ordinance (March 2021) and the Sustainable Mobility Ordinance, which includes the Low Emission Zone restricting access for vehicles without an environmental sticker. The Cambia 360 Aid Plan, activated in 2020, is also mentioned, having allocated 140.8 million euros in subsidies.
The Municipal Transport Company (EMT) has played a crucial role, eliminating all diesel buses by December 2022 and offering free Line Cero services and 72 days of free bus travel. In 2025, the EMT recorded a record 512 million users. Additionally, Bicimad, with its 635 stations and 7,795 bicycles, reached a record of 80,272 trips on June 5th.
