High levels of pollution prompt temporary vehicle ban in Milan

Italy’s Lombardy region has introduced temporary bans on heavy motor vehicles from operating during the day to combat a severe drop in air quality.

On Monday, the air quality in Milan – the region’s capital – was designated as ‘unhealthy’ by Swiss real time air quality website IQAir, with the level of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) found to be 24 times above the limit recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The reading briefly ranked Milan as one of the most polluted cities in the world – second only to Chengdu, China.

While the city has since dropped to fifth place, there are growing concerns about how Milan is managing its pollution with yesterday’s PM 2.5 levels at 16 times the WHO limit, according to the city council.

“We are worried about the situation, but we know that is not possible to change things alone for the city of Milan,” Elena Grandi, Councillor for Environment at the Municipality of Milan told Cities Today.

“We need instead to face the air pollution problem with a wider overview and that’s the reason why we asked for closer cooperation between municipal and regional authorities to evaluate and change emergency measures together.”

Car ban

According to the Italian Society for Environmental Medicine, Italy leads Europe for deaths attributed to atmospheric pollution with around 80,000 a year.

Levels of PM 2.5 and other pollutants in Milan rank among the highest in Europe, according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service and Italian environmental lobby Legambiente.

In October 2023, Mayor Sala announced plans to restrict cars from the city centre by mid-2024.

The plan would see cameras installed across key parts of the city to record traffic and prevent entry to private cars with exemptions for residents with a garage or anyone accessing car parking, and for public taxis and transport.

Mayor Sala has questioned the readings from IQAir, calling it “the usual impromptu analyses made by a private body”, according to The Guardian.

The Lombardy unit of Arpa, a regional environmental protection agency, described the IQAir classification as “unreliable”, but confirmed that the city’s air had consistently breached PM 2.5 limits in recent days.

But the company has defended its data, saying that in Milan it tracks 11 stations run by four sources: IQAir, PurpleAir, the European Environment Agency and Regione Lombardia.

“We understand many do not like to see their city ranked poorly when it comes to air quality however, IQAir publishes air quality data, clean or dirty, so the general population can know what they are breathing and what the health risks are where they live,” an IQAir spokesperson told Cities Today.

Image: diane-picchiottino-unsplash