New limits in the EU
According to Legambiente, some cities have to work harder to reduce their concentrations of pollutants and adapt to the new limits established by the European Union, which will officially enter into force on 1 January 2030 (20 µg/mc not to be exceeded for Pm10, 10 µg /mc for Pm2.5, 20 µg/mc for NO2). Limits which, however, are less strict than those of the WHO.
Cities outlawed for pollution
The cities that need to make the most effort are Turin and Milan (necessary reduction of 43%), Cremona (42%), Andria (41%) and Alessandria (40%) for the PM10; Monza (60%), Milan, Cremona, Padua and Vicenza (57%), Bergamo, Piacenza, Alessandria and Turin (55%), Como (52%), Brescia, Asti and Mantua (50%) for Pm2.5 ; the cities of Milan (47%), Turin (46%), Palermo (44%), Como (43%), Catania (41%), Rome (39%), Monza, Genoa, Trento and Bolzano (34%) , for NO2. According to the association, “the trend of decreasing pollution is too slow, exposing cities to new health risks and penalties”.
The recommendations of Legambiente
The cities furthest from the PM10 target “should reduce their concentrations by between 30% and 43% within the next seven years, but according to the current reduction trends recorded over the last 10 years (period 2011-2021, data Ecosystem), could take another 17 years on average to reach the goal, i.e. 2040 instead of 2030. Cities like Modena, Treviso, Vercelli – Legambiente explains – could take over 30 years. The situation is similar for NO2 as well and a city like Catania could take more than 40 years”.