According to measurements, only 13 European cities can boast that the average concentrations of fine particles in their air are below the limit set by the WHO – five micrograms per cubic metre of air (5 µg/m3).
Alas, Athens is not among them, nor among the top ten or even a hundred cities. The Greek capital is ranked… 270th in the ranking of European cities for air purity.
Scandinavian Uppsala, located in Sweden, has been recognized as the city with the cleanest air. This is according to the latest data from the European Environment Agency's (EEA) air quality monitoring programme. The leaders also include the Swedish city of Umea and Faro in Portugal.
The list of thirteen European cities with the cleanest air includes four Nordic capitals: Reykjavik, Tallinn, Stockholm and Helsinki.
It is worth noting that three out of four Europeans live in urban areas, so most of them are exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution, which increases the mortality rate in these cities.
Improving air quality to the level recommended by the World Health Organization, can significantly reduce premature deaths caused by air pollution.
The European Green Deal Action Plan for Zero Pollution sets an ambitious target of reducing premature deaths caused by fine particles by at least 55% compared to 2005 levels by 2030, writes CNN Greece: The long-term goal is no significant health impacts by 2050.
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