The traffic ban for Euro 5 diesel cars built before 2013 was triggered at 8 am, in Turin and in 12 other municipalities in the metropolitan area. The block, in force tomorrow as well, was triggered by the 'red light' provided by the the agreement of the Bacino padano, after ten consecutive days in which the micro-dust exceeded 50 micrograms per cubic meter. This morning the Piedmontese capital woke up under a thick fog, with the thermometer just below zero. The stop to euro 5 diesels adds to the permanent limitations and the block of euro 4 diesels, in force since last Thursday. Tomorrow a new detection of the presence of fine dust in the air is scheduled, which according to the forecasts of Arpa Piemonte, the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection, should rise further due to the persistence of high pressure and mists.
A cloak of smog envelops the Po valley. New traffic blocks and restrictions on home heating and agricultural activities are taking place. But it is not only the North that takes measures: the polluted air also imposes prohibitions in Tuscany, Florence and Viareggio. All the fault of the anticyclone that has been stationed over Italy for days, with little hope - according to the weather forecast - that the picture will change in the short term. On the contrary, in the middle of the week the mists could aggravate the pollution. In Turin and in 12 other municipalities in the province, the measures provided for by the red traffic light of the anti-smog plan provided for by the agreement of the Po Valley are applied for the first time, when the level of micro-dust for 10 consecutive days exceeds 50 micrograms per cubic meter. From tomorrow the euro 5 diesel cars built before 2013 must remain stationary, from 8 to 19. An announced block that has however created controversy, even among environmentalists: "The blocks, as they are managed now - explains the Cycling Mobility Council and traffic restraint - they correspond to a closure of the barn when the oxen have run away. For years we have been fighting for a change in mobility, and therefore in mentality, which requires time, planning, real experiments, based on data collected with scientific methods " .
The stop at 5 euros does not only concern Turin: other Piedmontese cities, Alessandria and Novi Ligure also stop them. In Lombardy, the prohibitions in Milan have been confirmed, despite the drop in smog recorded on Sunday, and extended from tomorrow also in the provinces of Lodi and Mantua. Stricter bans in Cremona. Limits lifted, however, in Monza, Bergamo and Pavia. In Veneto, the smog has reached the orange alert level: vehicles up to euro 4 diesel including in Padua, Treviso, Venice, Rovigo, Vicenza must stop. The risk, if there will not be a drop in smog, is that in January the North will reach the last level, the 'purple traffic light', which blocks all Euro 5 cars and introduces other, even stricter, restrictions. To reduce smog, Coldiretti proposes to increase parks and gardens, public and private, "because green areas' eat 'micro dust'. One hectare of plants - claims the agricultural organization - in one year eliminates about 20 kilos of dust and smog. We cannot continue to chase emergencies - adds Coldiretti - we need to act structurally ".
Since the beginning of 2020 - Legambiente points out "in addition to Turin, 5 other Italian cities have en plein by exceeding the legal limits for fine dust 6 days out of 6: Rovigo, Padua, Treviso, Venice and Vicenza". A study conducted by epidemiologists from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health claims that pollution weakens bones and increases the risk of osteoporosis. Inhalation of polluting particles could lead to loss of bone mass through oxidative stress and inflammation caused by smog. "
