Which are the most polluted cities in Europe?

Of the top 10 most polluted cities in Europe, half are Italian, concentrated in the northern regions. The ranking, which refers to the year 2024, is based on measurements from urban air quality (mainly PM₂.₅) — the fine particulate matter most harmful to human health — collected by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

This is the official ranking:

• Slavonski Brod (Croatia)
• Nowy Sącz (Poland)
• Cremona (Italy)
• Vicenza (Italy)
• Padua (Italy)
• Venice (Italy)
• Piacenza (Italy)
• Ioannina (Greece)
• Częstochowa (Poland)
• Żory (Poland)

The situation does not seem to have improved over the course of the 2025, and the health risks remain very high. The European Union has long since set an annual limit of mainly PM₂.₅ equal to 25 µg/m³, but WHO recommends a much lower value than 5 µg/m³ to protect health: in any case, both of these values ​​are significantly exceeded in the European cities that appear at the top of the pollution rankings and in as many as 13 EU countries more than half the population breathes polluted air.

Another important ranking, regarding pollution in Italian urban areas, is the report “Bad City Air 2025” by Legambiente, which analyzes data of air pollution in 2024 in Italian provincial capitalsThis report examines Italian cities which have exceeded the legal limits for fine particles (PM10) — fixed to 35 days per year with daily average concentrations above 50 µg/m³ — and highlights the most critical situations.

This is the national ranking with the first eight places:

• Frosinone (Port)- about 70 days beyond the limits
• Milan (Marche control unit)- 68 days
• Verona (Borgo Milano)- 66 days
• Vicenza (San Felice)- 64 days
• Padua (Arcella)- 61 days
• Venice (via Beccaria)- 61 days
• Cremona- 57 days
• Naples- 57 days

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