In the major EU urban centres, 350,000 premature deaths are caused by air pollution that damages the heart and lungs.
Athens, Thessaloniki and Volos are the three Greek cities with the highest concentrations of particulates (PM10 PM 2,5) that are increasing in numbers, mainly due to pollutants from car exhaust fumes, heating burners, and the lack of greenery.
According to Ecogreens, particularly in Thessaloniki, the PM 2,5-type particles from vehicular traffic are higher than twice the permissible EU limits.
A year ago Greece was one of those asked to reduce the high emissions of particulates by the European Commission, in order to implement the European standards, but this occurred only two months ago. Greece signed a ministerial decision inserting quality criteria for the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, ozone, benzene, etc. However the limits for air quality are expected to be implemented in 2015.
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