Pollution, Northern Italy remains black in Europe.«Too many schools without green areas:urgent actions to protect children" – The report

The latest report from the European Environment Agency (also) nails our country:"Over 1,200 minors" are victims of air poisoning every year

The Po Valley is among the European regions with the highest levels of particulate matter, PM10 and PM2.5, in the atmosphere.This is confirmed by the latest report on air pollution published by the European Environment Agency, based on definitive 2021 and preliminary data for 2022.The area of ​​northern Italy is included in the group of EU regions, especially in the central-eastern area, with the highest concentrations of particulate matter, due to the use of coal for heating and industrial production.According to the report, nitrogen dioxide, whose emissions are mainly caused by traffic, characterizes the air «of all the largest cities on the continent», while high concentrations of ozone mainly affect Italy and the Mediterranean basin « due to the role of solar radiation and heat in the formation of this gas."The European Agency recognizes that progress has been made in recent years, but it is not sufficient:“Exceedances of EU air quality standards are widespread despite improvements, with concentrations well above the latest WHO recommendations,” explains the report.«97% of the European urban population was exposed to concentrations of fine particulate matter above the reference level established by the World Health Organization».

Children are the first victims of pollution

The report finds that above all traffic, heating and industrial emissions are the main sources of smog in the 27 EU countries and in Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey.A situation that inevitably harms even the little ones.According to new estimates from the European Environment Agency, every year over 1,200 minors in Europe are victims of air pollution.This is why the appeal is to governments:“Specific interventions are needed to protect children and adolescents, such as the creation of “clean air zones” around schools,” writes the EEA.Green areas around schools in European cities are one of the most urgent issues on which the Agency focuses.According to the data collected, on average in the EU just over 10% of the area within a 300 meter radius of educational facilities is green, and only 6% is covered by trees.But the institutions with the greenest surroundings tend to be in Northern Europe.In Italy, in cities such as Milan, Bari and Naples, less than 5% of the area within a 300 meter radius of schools is green.Things are better in Rome, Florence and Bologna, where the percentage is between 5 and 10%.