Urban centers exposed to high levels of pollutants, report finds

Despite the efforts made through EU policies, a high proportion (96%) of people living in European cities are exposed to pollutants and high levels of fine particles, according to a report on air quality published Thursday by the European Environment Agency.

In Greece, levels of suspended particulate matter (PM10) in 2023 were above the EU's permissible limits (50 µg/m3) in Piraeus (60 μg/m3), on Aristotelous Street (56 μg/m3) and Peristeri (55 μg/m3) in Athens, while in Thessaloniki the threshold was passed in Agia Sophia (61 μg/m3) and Kordelio (54 μg/m3).

The report concerns data collected in 2022 and 2023 from the network of monitoring stations - in Greece this network is mainly limited to Athens and Thessaloniki (there are no records in Crete, cities in northern Greece, the Peloponnese, etc.) and for some pollutants it covers some cities in the periphery.