Pollutants

They are found almost everywhere, threatening health and the environment, there are more than 14,000 of them, they were first used in 1940 and are found in food packaging, non-stick utensils, cosmetics, even in snow, soil, drinking water…

Aiming to measure the impact of human activities on local air quality with greater precision, a novel air quality monitoring network featuring smart benches is being developed in Attica. This innovative initiative, known as Faircity, is a collaborative effort between the National Observatory of Athens and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

In food packaging, non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, carpets, mattresses, cosmetics, electronics, even in drinking water, in food, rain, and soil… More than 10,000 are perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS) – the so-called “permanent chemicals” – which can be found almost everywhere threatening health and the environment.

Only 10 countries and territories out of 134 achieved the World Health Organization's standards for a pervasive form of air pollution last year, according to air quality data compiled by IQAir, a Swiss company.

Copenhagen – Slovenia’s capital has placed 279th among 344 European cities in the European city air quality viewer with its air quality categorised as poor. Maribor ranks 207th having moderately clean air.

Brussels – The European Environment Agency (EEA) has launched the city air quality viewer, which has taken data from two Slovenian cities, Ljubljana and Maribor. The latest data show that the Slovenian capital is plagued by poor air quality, whereas the situation is a bit better in Slovenia’s second largest city.

Air quality dramatically improved in Turkey last year as people sheltered in their homes to help curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, says a report.

Ljubljana – The Environment Agency (ARSO) has detected more PM10 particulates and more nitrogen oxides in the air in October and November than in the same period last year. The situation is the worst in valleys and basins, where fog lingers for the most part of the day and the concentration of emissions has not been reduced by wind or rain.

On 23 November Sofia Ranks 13th by Air Pollution in the World

This morning capital Bulgaria's capital Sofia is in the red air pollution sector. The fine particulate matter indicator is 59.2 μg/m³, according to the Sofia Air Quality Index, BGNES reports.

After almost two months of unprecedented lows in terms of atmospheric pollutants in all major Greek cities, the return of traffic to the streets last week also led to a spike in pollution levels.