New data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that despite half of European cities still suffering from poor air quality, Dublin and Cork have cleaner air than average.<\/p>\n
New data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that despite half of European cities still suffering from poor air quality, Dublin and Cork have cleaner air than average, according to a
\nnews article in the Irish Examiner.<\/p>\n
The EEA’s data shows a strong correlation between a city’s coal use and its ranking in the study, with the Polish city of Nowy S\u0105cz coming bottom of the class with a “very poor” rating, followed by the
\nheavily industrialized city of Cremona in Italy. The data shows the EU’s cleanest city is Sweden’s university town of Ume\u00e5, well known for its integration of nature within its urban sprawl. Tampere in
\nFinland was not far behind.<\/p>\n
To rank the cities, the EEA collects data through environmental monitoring in 323 cities across Europe. Through the use of sensors, telemetry, and observations, the EEA’s study allows cities to compare
\nthe amount of particulate matter in the air that is 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter, better known as PM2.5, thought to cause over 400,000 premature deaths in Europe every year. Lowering the
\nconcentration of PM2.5, therefore, is considered a high priority in environmental improvement.<\/p>\n
While the ideal level of PM2.5 is zero, the European Directive has a maximum tolerance of PM2.5 in the air of 25 \u00b5g\/m\u00b3 (micrograms per cubic metre), with the World Health Organization (WHO) having a
\nless lenient upper limit of 10 \u00b5g\/m\u00b3. Going by the EEA’s data, only 127 cities out of the 323 fell within the WHO’s stricter guidelines. Poland’s Nowy S\u0105cz, for example, recorded a PM2.5 level of 27.3
\n\u00b5g\/m\u00b3 while Sweden’s Ume\u00e5 recorded only 3.7 \u00b5g\/m\u00b3.<\/p>\n
While the study featured a large sample of EU member state cities, only data from those with reliable PM2.5 environmental monitoring in place were included.<\/p>\n
Only three Irish cities were included in the study, Cork, Dublin, and Waterford. Of the three, Cork’s PM2.5 levels were observed as the lowest, measuring a mean concentration of 7.93 \u00b5g\/m\u00b3, classed as
\n“good” by EEA standards and ranking 36 in the rankings. Dublin’s own levels were considered good, with just 8.1 \u00b5g\/m\u00b3 measured in the capital, ranking 38. Waterford measured a “moderate” level of PM2.5
\nwith 10.5 \u00b5g\/m\u00b3 just outside the highest bracket. With their levels around the 8 \u00b5g\/m\u00b3 mark, Cork and Dublin now have cleaner air than 60 percent of other European cities.<\/p>\n
Ireland’s strong performance in the EEA study has been attributed to the Clean Air Strategy set out by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE). The strategy
\nprovides a “policy framework necessary to identify and promote the integrated measures across government policies that are required to reduce air pollution and promote cleaner air”.<\/p>\n
Notably missing from the data collected over the last two years is environmental monitoring from the United Kingdom, whose government declined membership from the watchdog, despite other non-EU member
\nstates such as Norway, Turkey, and Switzerland taking part.<\/p>\n
With their findings, the EEA claims despite the COVID-19 lockdowns since March 2020, levels of particulate matter in the air remained stubbornly high. Disruption to travel behaviour did lead to drops
\nin levels of nitrogen dioxide, however, with some cities recording 60% reductions in levels due to decreased use of diesel engines over the years.<\/p>\n
According to earlier data, the EEA claims levels of larger particulate matter, measuring 10 micrometres or less (PM10), only fell around 20 percent to 30 percent during the same period. This
\nsluggish response, they claim, is due to there being more sources of particulate matter than simply road traffic, including heating fuel, animal manure, and industrial practices. The EEA’s air
\npollution chief, Catherine Ganzleben, suggests that these trends are largely dependent on our work practices, “If people go back to the daily commute, or if they choose teleworking instead, that
\nwill disrupt these pollution patterns” she claims. The executive director of the EEA, Hans Bruyninckx, believes allowing the inhabitants of cities to compare their own city’s air quality with the web
\napp “empowers citizens towards their local authorities to address the issues”.<\/p>\n
In recent days, The Irish Times also covered the findings of this EEA report in an opinion piece titled ‘A wake-up call for Europe’. This article reminds readers that air pollution has been
\nfound to be the “single biggest environmental health risk” by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and points out that there is no room for complacency, with fine particulate matter still causing
\n1,300 premature Irish deaths yearly.<\/p>\n
New data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that despite half of European cities still suffering from poor air quality, Dublin and Cork have cleaner air than average. New data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that despite half of European cities still suffering from poor air quality, Dublin and Cork have cleaner …<\/p>\n
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