There are only five years left at the entry into force of the new European limits for the air quality, but Italian cities are definitely unprepared. Air pollution remains one of the most serious emergency situations, with levels that go much further than the parameters that will be mandatory from 2030. What comes from the Legambiente report?
Italy suffocates: the current situation of air pollution according to the Legambiente report
Italian urban areas continue to register worrying levels of air pollution, with fine dust concentrations (public prosecutor 10 and public prosecutor 2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO) that regularly exceed the limits that have been established by current legislation.
According to the report that the city Air 2025 of LegambientIn 2024, twenty -five Italian cities surpassed the legal boundaries for the legal boundaries for public prosecutor 10. The situation is particularly critical in the city such as Frosinone, Milan and Verona, which registered seventy, sixty and sixty -Six days respectively. Vicenza, Padua and Venice are also delivered, with the control units detecting pollution for more than sixty days a year.
Milan is confirmed among the most polluted cities in Italy, with various detection stations that have exceeded the limit of thirty -five days a year with a daily average of 10 public prosecutors larger than fifty micrograms per cubic meter. The Senate Control units, Pascal Città Studi and Verwere have registered fifty, forty and forty -four days of overhang. The situation does not improve in Verona, where the Borgo Milano control -unit had sixty -six days past the borders, while Giaol Grande put in Fiftyatré.
The problem of atmospheric pollution is not limited to large northern cities. Naples, Turin, Monza, Modena, Mantua, Lodi, Pavia, Catania, Bergamo, Piacenza, Rimini, Terni, Ferrara, Asti and Ravenna belong to the urban centers who have adopted the laws that have confirmed the national dimension of the crisis.
2030 is approaching: according to the Legambiente report, Italian cities are unprepared
With the entry into force of the new European Air Quality DirectivePlanned for January 1, 2030, the situation can become even more critical. The new limits impose a significant reduction in the average annual values of PM10 and NO₂, so that they are set respectively at twenty micrograms per cubic meter. If these standards were already operational, seventy Italian cities at ninety -like would be banned.
The cities behind, such as Verona, Cremona, Padua, Catania, Milan, Vicenza, Rovigo and Palermo, must reduce the concentrations of PM10 between twenty percentage and thirty -nin percent. With regard to nitrogen dioxide, the forty percentage of the provincial capitals does not respect the new values. Naples, Palermo, Milan and Como are among the cities with the most critical situations, with a necessary reduction between forty and fifty percent to return to the parameters.
This data confirms that Italy is still far from the route map indicated by the European Groene Deal. The cities, which occupy only four percent of the European surface, but the seventy -five percent of the population and produce more than fifty percent of CO₂ emissions, will have to experience a radical transformation in the coming years.
An emergency that kills tens of thousands of people every year
Air pollution is not only an environmental problem, but also a serious emergency for health. Italy has the sad European primate for premature deaths that can be attributed to poor air quality, with around fifty thousand deaths every year. Chronic exposure to high levels of fine dust and nitrogen dioxide is related to a significant increase in airways and cardiovascular disease, and is considered a risk factor for lung cancer.
According to theEuropean Environment AgencyIn 2021, ninety percent of the urban population of the European Union was exposed to concentrations of the end of the end of the levels that are higher than the levels by the recommended levelsWorld Health Organisation. Italy is one of the most affected countries, with the PO -Valley that confirms itself as one of the most polluted areas in Europe.
The causes of air pollution and the need for an immediate turning point
Vilicular traffic is the most important source of pollution of emissions in Italian cities. Diesel engines, still widespread, release large amounts of nitrogen dioxide and fine particles, causing the quality of the air to worse. Domestic heating also contributes considerably, especially in the northern regions, where the use of biomass and fossil fuels is still common. The industrial activities, although regulated, represent another relevant source of emissions, as well as agricultural and livestock farms in the PO -Valley, which release large quantities of ammonia, which promote the formation of secondary particles.
To reduce air pollution, an immediate change of naturally requires. Cities must take ambitious measures, efficiently promote public transport, invest in sustainable mobility and encourage the reduction of emissions in the residential and industrial sector. The transition to a model from cities to zero missions is no longer postponed.
An opportunity to reconsider urban mobility
The City Campaign 2030, launched by Legambiente, is intended to make citizens and local authorities aware of the need for more sustainable mobility. With twenty phases throughout Italy, the initiative wants to tell how cities are preparing for the challenges of 2030, where the strategies are evaluated to improve public transport, reduce private traffic and encourage the use of bicycle and electric vehicles.
Until March 18, meetings with managers, experts and citizens are held in every phase of the campaign to discuss the most effective solutions to make cities more livable and safer. Public events, Flash mobs and bicycle to school initiatives will be accompanied by the debate, with a specific focus on sharing mobility, on electric mobility and on the model of cities 30, where the speed limit is reduced to 30 km/h to encourage the safety and quality of city life.