00:00Which European countries have the worst air quality?
00:08The country of La Dolce Vita has a serious environmental problem,
00:12the highest local rates of PM2.5.
00:15It's a dangerous fine dust that penetrates deep into the lungs and blood.
00:19It can be caused by road traffic, but also refineries,
00:23cement plants, fossil fuels and wildfires.
00:26Between 2024 and 2025, the highest annual levels on average
00:31were found in southern Italian locations at 113 and 117 micrograms per cubic meter.
00:38The EU has set its annual limit at 25.
00:41During the same period, in addition to Italy,
00:44regions in eight EU and non-EU countries exceeded the limit,
00:48Poland, Croatia, Osnian Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Romania, Turkey
00:53and even Denmark at a site in Copenhagen.
00:57The highest concentrations of these red dots in Europe
01:00were found in Sarajevo and North Macedonia's industrial areas.
01:04In fact, the Balkans and Eastern Europe are the regions
01:07with the highest estimated mortality rate of 100,000 people
01:12linked to long-term PM2.5 exposure,
01:15including Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.
01:19In general, more than 9 in 10 Europeans are exposed
01:22to unsafe air pollution concentrations according to stricter WHO standards.
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