A European court has ruled for the second time that Greece breached EU air quality rules.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) judged for a second time that the Mediterranean country systematically exceeded the daily limit value for PM10 particles in Thessaloniki and did not take the necessary measures from 2005 to 2012, during 2014, and, subsequently, again from 2017 to 2019.
This pollution is higher than in Athens, scientist Mr. Melas said and pointed out that the cause is the low-intensity winds that prevail in the area, but also the imported pollution, which in the past was of course 20-30% greater.
A recent study finds that 8% of deaths in Greece each year may be attributed to pollution, a grim statistic that underscores the urgent need for environmental reforms.
In Greece, “of about 122,000 deaths in 2015, approximately 9,800 are related to pollution. Of these, 7,216 are related to air pollution, 257 to water pollution and 1,422 to polluted workplaces.”
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