The European City Air Quality Viewer, an online tool that allows users to compare air quality in various European cities, ranks Athens 290th out of 372 European cities based on data collected from air quality monitoring stations .
The digital platform of the European Environment Agency (eea.europa.eu), quoting a relevant table,
How is the ranking done?
Cities are ranked from cleanest to most polluted, based on average levels of fine particulate matter (or PM2.5) concentrations over the past two calendar years.
Fine particulate matter is the air pollutant with the greatest impact on health in terms of premature mortality and disease. This tool focuses on long-term air quality, as long-term exposure to air pollution causes the most serious health effects.
In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its air quality guidelines, based on health protection, and recommended an upper level of 5 µg/m³ for fine suspended particles for long-term exposure in order to protect health. In 2008, the European Union (EU) set an annual limit value for fine particulate matter at 25 µg/m³ as part of clean air policies in Europe.
The tool classifies air quality as follows:
- Good for fine particulate matter levels not exceeding the World Health Organization’s annual guideline value of 5 µg/m³
- Satisfactory for levels above 5 and not exceeding 10 µg/m³,
- Moderate for levels above 10 and not exceeding 15 µg/m³,
- Bad for levels above 15 and not exceeding 25 µg/m³, and
- Very poor for levels equal to or greater than the European Union limit value of 25 µg/m³.
According to the relevant table, the cleanest city in Europe is Uppsala in Sweden and the most polluted is Slavonski Brod in Croatia.
