Scientists named the seaside resorts in Europe with the dirtiest air

Researchers at Palo Alto-based startup Airly analyzed data on two types of air pollution in popular tourist destinations: they measured particulate matter (PM) on European coasts and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in European cities. The results are reported by the Daily Mail.

As for the cities, the most disadvantaged were London, Athens, Krakow, Paris, Rome, Milan and Madrid. Nitrogen dioxide, which is greatly exceeded in these cities, is mainly generated from road traffic emissions. This compound damages cells of the immune system and causes an increased susceptibility to respiratory infections.

Among the coastal resorts, the highest levels of particulate matter were recorded in the Canary Islands, Sardinia, on the southern coast of Spain. PM is microscopic particulate matter and liquid droplets that float in the air. They can be of natural origin - for example, forest fires or volcanic eruptions, but more often their source is human activities: coal burning, wood stoves. PM can enter the lungs and from there into the bloodstream.

The air on the coast is usually cleaner than inland, mainly due to the strong and frequent coastal winds. As a rule, dirty air is observed on the urbanized coasts of the islands with industry and active transport traffic. In addition, southern Europe is prone to natural air pollution - dust storms from Africa reach here. For those for whom cleanliness is important, scientists advise to turn their gaze to the coast of Scotland - there is the cleanest air on the entire continent.

In general, the analysis shows that PM pollution, even in the most polluted coastal areas, does not exceed the annual maximum set by the EU of 40 micrograms per cubic meter (40 μg / m3).

Air pollution data were collected from government monitoring stations through the European Environment Agency.

Europe's dirtiest resort coasts in terms of particulate matter (PM) (on a scale of 0 to 100 - the higher the number, the poorer the air quality)

• Canary Islands, Spain (30.6)
• Malta (30.2)
• Sardinia, Italy (29.1)
• Andalusia, Spain (26.9)
• Murcia, Spain (24.6)
• Campania, Italy (24)