The economic capital of Italy suffers particularly from its geographical location, but above all bears the consequences of its activities.
Published on February 21, 2024 12:27 p.m
Reading time: 1 min
The city of Milan, Italy, plagued by fine dust pollution, February 20, 2024. (MAURIZIO MAULE / MAXPPP)
It's like a very subtle layer that makes the air grayer. The city of Milan and its region have been under strict anti-pollution measures since Tuesday, February 20, 2024, with traffic restrictions, calls to turn off heating and a ban on spreading manure on fields. Since the beginning of the year, warnings about air quality in the Italian city have been increasing and are giving rise to concern.
On Sunday, February 18, the Swiss company IQ Air, which sells air purifiers, announced that for a few hours only Dakha in Bangladesh and Lahore in Pakistan were ranked among the most polluted cities in the world, ahead of Italy's economic capital. The city has now been downgraded in this live ranking, but is still one of the cities with the highest air pollution in the world.
Almost a month well above authorized standards
However, some Italian media, such as the city's center-left mayor Giuseppe Sala, were upset by what was seen as unreliable data: “We are acting to improve air quality. The regional authority says this is the case, but not enough, and I confirm it. But from there it is not possible for everyone to get information from a private institute!”
While the regional Environmental Protection Agency is less alarmist than this private ranking, the data remains striking. Overall, Milan has been above the permissible limits for particulate matter for almost a month since the beginning of the year, up to 30 times above the limit on the darkest days.
The economic capital of Italy is bearing the consequences of its activity: industry, population density, traffic, intensive livestock farming in the region… The Po Valley is sandwiched between the mountains and this end of winter looks like spring in Italy will make everything worse make. since rain is rare. The nearby region of Turin has declared a state of natural disaster. Due to the drought, Sicily declared a state of natural disaster in early February.