Ljubljana's air quality poor, Maribor's a bit better

Data about PM 2.5 particles were gathered from more than 500 stations in urban areas in all EU member states, as well as in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Based on the data, only 13 cities had levels compatible with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations of up to 5 microgrammes per cubic metre of air.

With 15.4 microgrammes, Ljubljana is in the group of 71 cities with poor air quality, or more than 15.1 microgrammes of PM 2.5 particles per cubic metre of air.

With 12.1 microgrammes, Maribor was moderately polluted over the past two years alongside another 117 cities, including Italy's Rome and Croatia's Zagreb.

The cleanest air was measured in Sweden's Uppsala and Umea and Portugal's Faro, followed by four capitals in the north - Reykjavik, Tallinn, Stockholm and Helsinki.

Acceptable quality of air (5.1 to 10.0 microgrammes) was measured in 169 cities, including Austria's Vienna, and Croatia's Slavonski Brod (26.5) was the only city to have very poor air quality.

While three quarters of all Europeans live in urban areas, the results of the measurements show that most of them are exposed to dangerously polluted air.

"Improving air quality to the levels recommended by the WHO could significantly reduce the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution," the EEA said on Thursday.

The EU would like to improve air quality, and its Green Deal's zero pollution action plan aims to reduce the number of premature deaths caused by fine particles by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels, while the long-term goal is to have no more major impact on health by 2050.