• 71 per cent of Italian regional capitals would already exceed the new European limits for fine particulate matter Pm10, and 45 per cent for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which will come into force from 2030.
• Frosinone leads the ranking with 70 exceedances, followed by Milano (68 days), Verona (66) and Vicenza (64).
• Legambiente calls for sustainable mobility measures, energy efficiency improvements and sound environmental policies.

2030 is approaching and Italian cities are still far from European air quality standards. The new report Mal'Aria di città 2025 by Legambiente paints an overall critical picture, with 71 per cent of regional capitals exceeding the new European limits for fine particulate matter Pm10, and 45 per cent for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In 2024, as many as 50 out of 98 monitoring stations across 25 Italian cities recorded PM10 levels above the current legal limits (35 days with a daily average exceeding 50 micrograms per cubic metre). Frosinone tops the ranking with 70 exceedances, followed by Milano (68 days), Verona (66) and Vicenza (64). In many cities the problem is not confined to a single area: several monitoring stations reported critical values, a sign of a widespread emergency.

Italy is choking: the figures from Mal'Aria di città

The glass, Legambiente points out, could also be seen as half full, if we were to consider exclusively the current reference parameters: according to Mal'Aria di città 2025, no Italian regional capital exceeded the regulatory limit set at 40 micrograms per cubic metre as an annual average in 2024. The glass is decidedly half empty, however, if one takes as a reference the values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which in its guidelines sets the annual average not to be exceeded at just 15 µg/mc.

Tg3 @Tg3web

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Non c'è più tempo da perdere. È il messaggio chiaro dell'ultimo report di Legambiente sulla qualità dell'aria. L'anno scorso 25 città sulle 98 rilevate hanno superato i limiti di legge. In cima alla classifica delle peggiori c'è Frosinone, seguita da Milano e Verona

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In this case, unfortunately, approximately 97 per cent of the regional capitals for which the annual average could be reconstructed in the Mal'Aria di città 2025 report (95 out of 98 capitals examined) do not comply with this value, with consequent damage to the health of people living and working in these urban areas. The new air quality directive recently approved at EU level has revised the reference limits for Pm10, bringing them much closer to those recommended by the WHO; from 2030, the limit set as the annual average not to be exceeded will drop from the current 40 µg/mc to 20 (the value recommended by the WHO remains 15 µg/mc). This means that within five years, member states will need to take remedial action — Italy first and foremost — to avoid being caught unprepared by the newly established and approved limits. To comply with them, cities such as Milano, Vicenza, Rovigo and Palermo would need to reduce PM10 concentrations by between 28 and 39 per cent, while Napoli, Palermo, Milano and Como would need to cut NO2 emissions by up to 50 per cent.

Legambiente's demands: urgent measures needed

ItalianPolitica @ItalianPolitics

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SALUTE. Quali sono le città italiane più inquinate a causa PM10 (polveri sottili) secondo il report di Legambiente "Mal'Aria di città 2025"?

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"The reduction of air pollution is progressing too slowly," says Andrea Minutolo, scientific director of Legambiente. The environmental organisation is calling for structural and immediate action, including:

• Sustainable mobility: strengthening local public transport, electrifying vehicles and expanding pedestrian and cycling areas, following the model of the "15-minute city" and Low Emission Zones.
• Energy efficiency: gradually phasing out diesel, coal and methane boilers in favour of heat pumps.
• Agriculture and livestock farming: reducing the impact of intensive livestock farming, particularly in the Po Valley basin, the primary source of ammonia and methane emissions.
• Synergy between environmental and health policies: air pollution causes 50,000 premature deaths per year in Italy. It is essential to integrate policies on air quality, energy and climate to drastically reduce emissions.

In the meantime, the Città2030 campaign has kicked off in Milano, with stops in 20 cities through to 18 March. The aim is to raise awareness among citizens and local administrations about sustainable mobility and the need to redesign urban spaces to make them more liveable and safe. The tour will conclude in Roma with the Forum Mobilità, a key event to discuss transition strategies with institutions, experts and industry representatives.