The cities with the most toxic air in Europe

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1 Thick air! After the air quality improved briefly in the last two years due to the pandemic, a new study shows that the values have deteriorated sharply again in many places.

2 nitrogen dioxide pollution

3 Newcastle has the highest nitrogen dioxide pollution

4 The 20 European cities with the highest nitrogen dioxide pollution

Thick air! After the air quality improved briefly in the last two years due to the pandemic, a new study shows that the values have deteriorated sharply again in many places.

Particulate matter, smog, air pollution: Just two weeks ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report showing that 99 percent of people on earth breathe air that contains too many pollutants – with sometimes fatal consequences. Now the analysis of the Polish start-up Airly, based in Kraków, raises the alarm again. Airly’s sensors provide real-time local air quality data and act as a global air pollution alert system. The grim reality: The 20 European cities with the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution exceed the WHO recommended guideline values.

nitrogen dioxide pollution

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) is a toxic, non-flammable gas composed of one nitrogen atom and two oxygen atoms and is produced when it burns. The main sources of nitrogen oxides in the air are internal combustion engines and furnaces – for example for coal, oil, gas, wood, waste. According to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), road traffic is the most important source of nitrogen oxide in urban areas: the largest proportion comes from diesel engines in passenger cars, light and heavy commercial vehicles and diesel-powered buses.

Combustion in the engine first produces nitrogen monoxide (NO) – a colorless, non-toxic, non-flammable gas. Nitrogen monoxide then reacts with atmospheric oxygen and in particular with ozone (O3) to form nitrogen dioxide. Pure nitrogen dioxide is a brown-red irritant gas and highly toxic. If there is a high level of NO₂ in the outside air, the gas can damage the environment and plants. It contributes to acid rain and, as the substances accumulate in the soil, to acidification of the soil. When nitrogen dioxide levels are high, more people are hospitalized for respiratory diseases. According to the UBA, an increase in cardiovascular diseases and mortality can also be observed.

Newcastle has the highest nitrogen dioxide pollution

According to measurements and evaluations by the Airly company, air pollution increased in many major European cities in March. Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK tops the list of European cities with the highest nitrogen dioxide pollution. The NO₂ concentration in Newcastle was 44.6 micrograms per cubic meter of air (µg/m3) – this corresponds to 179 percent of the limit value of 25 µg/m3g recommended by the WHO. Naples comes second with 42.4 µg/m3g and Paris third with 41.2 µg/m3g.

The top 20 shows that Germany must also take action: five German cities are listed in the top ten. The German city with the highest concentration of nitrogen dioxide is Dortmund in fifth place. At 35.6 µg/m3g, the nitrogen pollution there corresponds to 142 percent of the WHO limit value.