Unbreathable air due to pollution:alarm in 58 Italian provinces

In 2022, 98% of people living in Europe lived in areas with a concentration of fine particulate matter – a combination of very small solid and liquid particles of different materials and pollutants, commonly abbreviated as PM 2.5 – higher than the limit set by the World Health Organization Healthcare (WHO).Pollution levels were particularly severe in some parts of Europe, including some Italian regions.In fact, 73% of those who live in our country live in the 58 cities where from the beginning of 2023 - from January to August - the concentration of fine particles has exceeded the limits suggested by the WHO, equal to five micrograms per cubic meter of air - while the new European standards on air quality would allow an average annual concentration of 10 micrograms starting from 2035.

Second the study, based on Copernicus atmospheric monitoring and promoted by the German newspaper Deutsche Welle, in collaboration with the European data journalism network, Northern Italy holds the record, in our territory, due to constantly poor air quality.Researchers say the average daily concentration of PM 2.5 in cities such as Milan, Padua and Verona has exceeded 75 micrograms (µg) per cubic meter (m3).

The Po Valley in Italy, one of the most polluted regions in Europe, as seen from space today.

And it just keeps getting worse. pic.twitter.com/Btgetzir98

— Nahel Belgherze (@WxNB_) October 2, 2023

Part of the blame is due to the conformation of the territory:the region is 'suffocated' by the mountains that surround it and which trap the pollution created by traffic, industry, agricultural emissions and residential heating in the area.However – and above all – they also have something to do with it political reasons.Suffice it to say that almost all the regions of Northern Italy have declared war on the European institutions in relation to the new and more stringent constraints on the air quality directive.The content of EU directives, in particular, he flew into a rage precisely the governors of the regions of the Po Valley, the area of ​​Western Europe with more premature deaths due to pollution. For the president of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, the impact of stricter rules would be economically devastating, since «75% of production activities would have to be closed, three-quarters of vehicles prevented from circulating, 75% of livestock and agricultural activities would have to be closed of the territory."It matters little, therefore, if the Po Valley records the most worrying data among the 27 European states in terms of air pollution and suffers the most serious deterioration in air quality in the last four years.

Second the data provided by Sole 24 Ore, which took care of breaking down the numbers contained within the study regarding Italy, was Cremona is the most affected province from smog, followed by Monza and Brianza, Milan, Mantua and Padua - practically the entire area of ​​the Po Valley.

However, things are no better elsewhere.In addition to the areas already mentioned, the province of Biella also stands out, which saw the average annual concentration of PM 2.5 increase from 9.9 µg/m3 to 11.6 in the same period of time, as happened among the others, in Lecco (+14.8), Vicenza (+14.3%), Como (+14.2), Varese (+14%), Lucca (+12.9) and Pistoia (+12.7% ).Worrying peaks were also recorded in the Centre-South (with particular attention to Naples, Caserta, Benevento, Taranto, Avellino, Lecce and Brindisi), with Rome recording an increase of 3.3%.

It is no wonder, therefore, if in May 2022 the Court of Justice of the European Union condemned Italy for the level of air pollution, upholding an appeal from the European Commission regarding the failure to comply with the limit value set for nitrogen dioxide in the air, defined as "systematic and continuous".

In fact, already last year none of the 102 Italian provincial capitals managed to comply with the new air pollution threshold limits imposed by the World Health Organization (WHO).It follows that every year, on average - estimated the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research - in our country 8.3% of deaths due to natural causes is attributable to long-term exposure to PM2.5 - the pollutant most associated with health risks - a share which in the North rises to 10.9%.

For a total of approximately 51 thousand premature deaths per year - data collected between 2016 and 2019.Yet, according to experts, it would be enough for the main European cities to reach the target of five micrograms per cubic meter to avoid the deaths of at least 100 thousand people per year from pollution.

[by Gloria Ferrari]