Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima moves to strengthen regional air quality monitoring

Tuesday 06 - 17:10

The Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region is preparing to establish a more comprehensive system for monitoring air quality, combining expanded measurement infrastructure with a detailed inventory of atmospheric emissions.

The initiative, which carries a total budget of 17 million Moroccan dirhams, is being developed through two multilateral partnership agreements involving the regional council, the regional Wilaya, relevant government departments, and the prefectures and provinces within the territory.

The programme forms part of Morocco’s national strategy to improve air quality between 2020 and 2030, with the new regional framework designed to provide authorities with more precise information for identifying pollution sources, assessing risks and planning mitigation measures.

Building a regional map of pollution sources

A first agreement, worth 6 million dirhams, will focus on strengthening the technical capacity needed to monitor and analyse atmospheric pollution. The project is jointly financed by the regional council and the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years.

One of its central components will be the creation of tools capable of identifying and quantifying pollutant emissions according to their source, sector, geographical distribution and time period. Authorities will use the resulting information to develop a georeferenced regional emissions inventory.

The database is expected to become a common reference for the region, with information designed to remain reliable, standardised and regularly updated. Beyond simply recording pollution levels, the system is intended to provide a clearer picture of where emissions originate and how they evolve over time.

This information will also feed into the air-quality modelling and forecasting platform operated by the Department of Sustainable Development. The longer-term objective is to establish a regional decision-support mechanism that can help authorities anticipate pollution episodes and determine appropriate prevention or reduction measures.

Meteorological data to support pollution forecasting

The project will draw on the technical expertise of Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology, which will provide meteorological and climatological information required to prepare regional emissions inventories and pollution maps.

The National Laboratory for Air Pollution Studies and Monitoring, operating under the Department of Sustainable Development, will also contribute technical expertise and data.

The combination of emissions information with meteorological conditions is expected to improve the ability of regional authorities to understand the movement and concentration of pollutants, strengthening the basis for evidence-based environmental policies.

The health sector will also have a role in the system. The territorial health group is expected to use indicators generated by the monitoring network and undertake public-awareness measures when air-quality conditions present potential health risks.

More monitoring stations across the region

The second partnership agreement represents the larger financial component of the initiative, with an allocation of 11 million dirhams.

Its purpose is to expand the existing air-quality monitoring network through the acquisition and installation of additional stations across Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima. Funding will be shared between the Ministry of Interior, contributing 3 million dirhams, and the regional council and Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, each contributing 4 million dirhams.

The new fixed stations will continuously measure concentrations of atmospheric pollutants through dedicated analysers. They will also include data-storage equipment and communication systems capable of transmitting measurements to the central server operated by the Department of Sustainable Development.

From measurement to public health action

The expansion of the monitoring network is intended to give authorities access to more frequent and geographically distributed information on air pollution.

The data will be processed to produce periodic assessments of air quality, while also supporting measures aimed at protecting public health. By combining continuous measurements, emissions inventories and forecasting capabilities, the regional authorities are seeking to move toward a more proactive approach to air pollution management.

For Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, the project therefore represents more than an expansion of monitoring equipment. It is designed as an integrated environmental information system capable of linking pollution sources, atmospheric conditions, forecasting and health-related responses within a single regional framework.