Cork and Dublin have cleaner air than 60% of European cities - study
Cork recorded a 'good' annual mean concentration score of 7.93 mg of fine particulate matter μg/m3 - the 36th best score recorded overall. File Picture: Dan Linehan
Cork and Dublin have, on average, cleaner air than more than half of other European cities, a new study has shown.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) gathered data on levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the air for 323 European cities in 2019 and 2020.
Fine particulate matter is one of the main sources of air pollution worldwide, and has the biggest impact on people’s health, accounting for an estimated 400,000 premature deaths per year in Europe alone.
Of the European cities surveyed, just 40% were found to have levels below the limit recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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According to the WHO, a mean annual concentration of anything between 0 and 10 milligrams of fine particulate matter represents 'good' air quality and levels from 10 to 15 μg/m3 represent 'moderate' air quality.
'Poor' air quality is seen in cities with levels between 15 and 25 μg/m3, and 'very poor' levels are seen in cities at or above the European Union limit value of 25 μg/m3.
Only European cities with consistent PM.5 measurement and reporting could be included in the study.
Cork’s air fared best among the three Irish cities studied, with a 'good' annual mean concentration of 7.93 mg of fine particulate matter μg/m3 - the 36th best score recorded overall.
Dublin ranked just two positions lower at 38th, with an annual mean concentration of 8.08 mg of PM 2.5 μg/m3.
Waterford, the only other Irish city included, recorded a 'moderate' score of 10.50 μg/m3, placing it 153rd out of 323 cities.
Europe’s cleanest cities in terms of air quality were Umeå in Sweden (3.7 μg/m3), Tampere in Finland (3.8 μg/m3), and Funchal in Portugal (4.2 μg/m3).
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Nowy Sącz in Poland had the most polluted air by some margin, with levels of PM 2.5 of 27.3 μg/m3.
Next worst were Cremona in Italy with 25.9 μg/m3, and Slavonski Brod in Croatia with 25.7 μg/m3.
In its report, the EEA said that lockdown measures introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic had led to levels of nitrogen dioxide - an irritant gas associated with emissions from diesel engines - falling by more than 60% in April 2020.
However, it noted that levels of particulate matter had relatively stayed high, with less dramatic decreases of 20% to 30%.
The EEA said this was because particulate matter originates from more sources than just road traffic.
Hans Bruyninckx, the executive director of the EEA, said that while air quality has improved over the past years, pollution remained "stubbornly high" in many European cities.
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