Most polluted cities in Europe - air quality map

Even though the European countries have specified the common goals in the Paris Agreement back in 2015, many of them still have a long way to go. Which are the most polluted cities in Europe and why?

The Paris Agreement - what has it changes?

In December 2015, during the climate conference in Paris (COP21), a significant decision was made. The agreement that tied over 190 countries in a common aim - to stop climate change - was the first such a settlement ever made in history. The formal ratification, introduced on the 4th of November 2016, has obliged the EU members and other countries responsible for 55% of worldwide emissions of C02 to enter the path of emission reduction and prepare energy transformation plans.

The agreement's side aims are to improve the countries' capabilities of dealing with the climate crisis and support them on their path to increased sustainability.

The Paris Agreement vs. the most polluted cities in Europe

The Paris Agreement has been a non-precedence event, a real deal-breaker, that has allowed to impose expectations on EU countries in terms of protection against climate change. Nevertheless, it is impossible to implement changes in the blink of an eye. For some countries, implementing the Paris deal assumptions is particularly problematic because of their economic foundations, based on the coal mine industry. Poland is one of them. Unfortunately, these countries are also where the most polluted cities in Europe are located.

Climate change versus air pollution

The deal is focused on reducing climate change, not air pollution. However, these two goals are connected, whereas the conventional sources of energy such as coal or oil, are lifting up the CO2 emissions and worsen the air quality. That is proven by the fact that the countries that emit the highest amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, such as China, also deal with the neverending issue of smog and air pollution.

The perfect solution would be to completely switch to renewable energy. However, in the case of countries that base their economy on coal mining, that change requires planning and prediction on a far more advanced level than in the case of Denmark or Holland. Poland or the middle-eastern European countries such as Bulgaria or Romania need funds for the requalification of people working in the mining industry and implementing sustainable solutions. Their transformation is possible but will definitely require more time than in the case of Scandinavian and western European countries.

Most polluted cities in Europe - ranking

The official ranking from 2018 points out that from the 30 most polluted cities in Europe, 29 are located in Poland and Bulgaria. Below you will find the 10 first positions in the ranking.

Vidin, Bulgaria
Dimotrovgrad, Bulgaria
Opoczno, Poland
Żywiec, Poland
Rybnik, Poland
Pszczyna, Poland
Dolny Voden, Bulgaria
Kraków, Poland
Nowa Ruda, Poland
Nowy Sącz, Poland.

The reasons vary. The poor implementation of sustainable energy solutions, high concentration of factories that elevate the level of air pollution in the area, the topography - these are among the most common ones. Let's not forget that there are various types of air pollution such as particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. The ranking gathers them all.

Searching for the most updated information? You will find it on https://airly.org/map/en/.

Air quality monitoring in most polluted cities in Europe

In recent years, an emphasis has been put on air quality monitoring because of EU regulations but also the growing consciousness of the citizens that demand air quality reports. Energy transformation will obviously put down the air pollution level, but improving air quality requires additional steps such as switching to modes of production that are less harmful to the environment.

Check Airly to monitor the level of pollution in your city (updated daily).