Which are the Italian cities most at risk of smog:data in a new report

Frosinone, Turin and Treviso are the cities most at risk of smog in Italy.This is what emerged from the new Legambiente report Mal'Aria di città 2024, drawn up as part of the Clean Cities Campaign, which examined the 2023 data in the provincial capitals, both as regards the levels of fine particles (PM10, PM2.5) than nitrogen dioxide (NO2).“Their current levels – explains Legambiente – have been stable for several years now, in line with current legislation, but remain far from the regulatory limits that will be approved shortly by the EU, scheduled for 2030 and above all from the values ​​suggested by the Organization world health".

The report of Legambiente highlighted how the fight against smog in Italian cities still has a long way to go.According to what emerged from the work of the Green Swan researchers, of the 98 cities monitored to date, 18 exceeded the current limits regulations for PM10 exceedances (35 days a year with a daily average above 50 micrograms/cubic meter).Although a slight improvement was detected compared to the data for 2022 (29 outlawed cities) and 2021 (31 cities), it should be underlined that the latter would be "mainly attributable to weather conditions favorable that characterized 2023, rather than an actual success of the political actions undertaken to deal with the smog emergency", declare the researchers.

According to the parameters currently in force in the EU, the Legambiente report sees it at the top of the ranking Frosinone (with the Frosinone Scalo control unit) with 70 days of overrun, double compared to the permitted values, followed by Turin (Fat) with 66, Treviso (road S.Agnese) 63 and Mantua (via Ariosto), Padua (Arcella) and Venice (via Beccaria) with 62.Even the three Venetian cities, Rovigo (Centro), Verona (B.go Milano), and Vicenza (Ferrovieri), exceed 50 days:55, 55 and 53 respectively.Milan (Senato) records 49 days, Asti (Baussano) 47, Cremona (P.zza Cadorna) 46, Lodi (V.le Vignati) 43, Brescia (Villaggio Sereno) and Monza (via Machiavelli) 40.Closing the list are Alessandria (D'Annunzio) with 39, Naples (Pellerini Hospital) and Ferrara (Isonzo) with 36.

If 2030 were already here and the parameters taken into consideration were those that will come into force in 6 years, instead, 69% of cities would be outlawed for PM10, with the most critical situations in Padua, Verona and Vicenza with 32 µg/m3, followed by Cremona and Venice (31 µg/m3), and finally by Brescia, Cagliari, Mantua, Rovigo, Turin and Treviso (30 µg /mc).The same applies also for PM2.5:84% of cities will be above the future limits, with the highest values ​​recorded in Padua (24 µg/m3), Vicenza (23 µg/m3), Treviso and Cremona (21 µg/m3), Bergamo and Verona (20 µg/m3). NO2 is the only pollutant that is decreasing in the last 5 years, but 50% of cities would still remain illegal.Naples (38 µg/mc), Milan (35 µg/mc), Turin (34 µg/mc), Catania and Palermo (33 µg/mc), Bergamo and Rome (32 µg/mc), Como (31 µg/mc ), Andria, Florence, Padua and Trento (29 µg/m3) are the cities with the highest levels.

«Once again – he commented Giorgio Zampetti, general director of Legambiente –  the goal of having clean air in Italian urban centers remains a mirage, as demonstrated by the photograph taken by our report Mal'Aria di città.The sources are known just as the actions and measures to reduce emissions are available and known, but we still continue to experience strong and unjustified delays in promoting transversal solutions.We therefore need a radical change, implementing structural and integrated measures, capable of effectively impacting the various sources of smog, from building heating, from industry to agriculture and livestock farming up to mobility, where measures to reduce traffic and pollution can be well reconciled with greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists, as demonstrated by the important intervention of the city at 30km/h in Bologna, desired by the mayor Matteo Lepore and the municipal administration.An intervention already carried out in several European cities which we ask is increasingly widespread in Italian ones too."

Furthermore, considering that Italy matters 47,000 premature deaths per year due to PM2.5, it is crucial – he explains Andrea Minutolo, scientific director of Legambiente - determine a turning point at national and territorial level to reduce the health impact on the Italian population, the cost associated with it, and the damage to natural environments.

[by Iris Paganessi]