Air Pollution Strikes Across Europe As 2017 Kicks Off

Stockholm, Sweden, January 2, 2017 – A quick snapshot of urban air quality around Europe on the first day of the new year reveals that cities such as Salzburg, Chamonix, Berlin, Amsterdam, Krakow, Madrid and Oslo all saw their citizens suffering severe air pollution. Figures published on www.airqualitynow.eu showed that levels of airborne particulate matter such as PM10 had moved into the most hazardous ‘red’ level.

“It may surprise many people that a city like Oslo, the Norwegian capital, suffers severe air pollution considering it is home to the largest number of electric vehicles per capita in the world, but it underlines the insidious nature of air pollution and shows how hard it is to avoid it,” said Bengt Rittri, founder of Blueair, a world leader in indoor air purification technologies.

Research indicates that the principal source of airborne PM10 and PM2.5 particulate matter in many European cities is road traffic emissions, particularly from diesel vehicles. According to airqualitynow.eu, limit values are often exceeded in European cities.

Norway’s government has spent many years encouraging drivers to move to zero emission electric vehicles using tax breaks and other initiatives such as building an extensive recharging network in a bid to reduce carbon emissions. Electric vehicle registrations in Norway stand at over 24% of the total market (compared to 1.3% in the UK and 0.7% in Germany), yet the Norwegian environmental agency says that in most towns Norway's national targets for local air quality are still not being met, blaming high auto emissions and use of wood burning stoves.

“Air pollution is harmful to people, especially those suffering asthma, respiratory and cardio complaints as well as children and young people, pregnant women and the elderly, even in mature countries like Germany, Norway and Spain. It will take time to change the pollution on our city streets, but we can help protect ourselves by installing air purifiers indoors, where we spend up to 90 percent of our time,” said Bengt Rittri.

For more information, please contact David Noble, Blueair PR and Communication, at +44 7785 302 694 or david.noble@blueair.se