Brescia and Bergamo have the highest mortality rate from fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Europe.
In the top ten also Vicenza (in fourth place) and Saronno (in eighth).
It is the result of a study conducted by researchers from the University of Utrecht, the Global Health Institute of Barcelona and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, published in The Lancet Planetary Health and funded by the Spanish Ministry of Innovation and Global Health. Institute.
The study also analyzes nitrogen dioxide (NO2) mortality, with Madrid the city with the highest number of deaths in Europe, and Turin and Milan in third and fifth place respectively. The results show that 51,000 premature deaths from PM2.5 and 900 from NO2 could be avoided each year if the cities surveyed reduced the levels of the two pollutants recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The data for each city are available on the website www.isglobalranking.org. By applying the WHO guidelines on PM2.5 in Brescia 232 deaths a year could be avoided and in Bergamo 137. Doing the same with NO2 in Turin, there would be 34 fewer deaths, and in Milan 103.
