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Athens, once among Europe\u2019s most polluted cities, has shown steady signs of improvement over the past couple of decades, though there is still significant progress to be made.<\/p>\n
Last September, Athens ranked 290th out of 372 European cities for air quality, according to the European City Air Quality Viewer, an online tool that compares air quality data from monitoring stations across Europe.<\/p>\n
Until 1990, the greater Athens area was plagued by high levels of pollutants, including sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, microparticles, and ozone.<\/p>\n
However, air quality has significantly improved since then, thanks to a series of positive initiatives, Dr. Konstantinos Moustris, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of West Attica and head of its Laboratory of Atmospheric Pollution, told Kathimerini.<\/p>\n
The gradual phasing out of catalytic cars starting in 1991 led to a sharp reduction in air pollutants by 1995. Additionally, the launch of the Athens metro in 2000, the relocation of Athens International Airport from Elliniko, southern Athens, to Spata, on the city\u2019s eastern outskirts, in 2001, and the establishment of the cross-city Attiki Odos motorway in 2003, all contributed to further improvements in air quality, the professor noted.<\/p>\n
Other measures, such as the compulsory withdrawal of diesel-fueled taxis for the 2004 Athens Olympics, also helped reduce pollution.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough taxis accounted for just 5% of the vehicles on Athens\u2019 roads, they were responsible for the vast majority of particulate matter in the atmosphere,\u201d said Professor Giorgos Spyropoulos, also from the University of West Attica\u2019s air pollution laboratory.<\/p>\n
Air pollutant emissions also decreased during the previous decade\u2019s economic crisis, as many citizens used their vehicles less frequently. A similar reduction occurred during the Covid lockdown period.<\/p>\n
According to the university laboratory officials, Athens enjoys significantly better air quality compared to European cities like Hamburg, Milan, other parts of northern Italy, Vilnius, and a variety of cities in the Balkans.<\/p>\n
Within Greece, two other cities, Volos and Thessaloniki, often experience poor air quality, sometimes worse than Athens, they added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n