Region in Andalusia, Spain

Air quality in Costa del Sol

Updated October 2026Sources

8PM2.5 µg/m³, yearly

Fairly clean

The annual average PM2.5 in Costa del Sol was 8 µg/m³ in 2021, about 1.6 times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.

Key facts

PM2.5: 8 µg/m³ yearly average (2021). Measured at Málaga, 3 km away.
Nitrogen dioxide: 17 µg/m³ (2021), mostly from traffic.

Air quality across Spain

Place	PM2.5	Level
Gran Canaria	5 µg/m³	Meets the WHO guideline
Lanzarote	7 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Benidorm	7.9 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Málaga	8 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Costa del Sol	8 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Las Palmas	8 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Salamanca	8 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Torremolinos	8 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Cádiz	8.5 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Tenerife	9 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Santiago de Compostela	9 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Toledo	9.8 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Madrid	10 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Bilbao	10 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Alicante	10 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Fuerteventura	10 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Costa Blanca	10 µg/m³	Fairly clean
Palma	10.6 µg/m³	Moderate
Seville	11 µg/m³	Moderate
Valencia	11 µg/m³	Moderate
Maspalomas	11.3 µg/m³	Moderate
Barcelona	12 µg/m³	Moderate
Córdoba	12 µg/m³	Moderate
Marbella	12.6 µg/m³	Moderate
Granada	13 µg/m³	Moderate
Murcia	13.2 µg/m³	Moderate

Quick answers

Is the air in Costa del Sol bad?

Fairly clean: 8 µg/m³ of PM2.5 on average, 1.6× the WHO guideline.

How does Costa del Sol compare with the rest of Spain?

People in Spain breathe 10 µg/m³ of PM2.5 on average (2023, World Bank/WHO), against 8 µg/m³ measured here.

More about Costa del Sol

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Sources

Annual averages are measured values reported to the WHO; check a live map for today's air. Compiled and reviewed by SoloSquare. How we compile and score this. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.