The Basque Government has approved a decree indicating that metropolitan Bilbao is not a polluted area. This Decree repeals the one approved in 1977, which considered Bilbao as a polluted area.
According to the report presented by the Department of Environment of the Basque Government, all measurements made have given positive values and do not exceed the legal limits established. The air situation in Bilbao has greatly improved in the last two decades, due, among other things, to the disappearance of numerous polluting industries. Likewise, the ecological consciousness that has developed in society and industry, as well as the lower use of certain coal and oil derivatives, have played an important role.