ROME, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Air pollution was above European Union (EU) legal limits in more than half of Italy's 107 provincial capitals in 2018, the environmental association Legambiente said in its annual report on air quality on Tuesday.
The leading sources of air pollutants in Italy are traffic, domestic heating, industry and agriculture. Together, they caused particulate matter (PM10) and ozone levels to rise above the daily legal limits in 55 out of 107 major cities in 2018, Legambiente said.
"The direct consequence is that residents breathed polluted air for about four months out of the year," the Legambiente report said.
The cities with the most polluted air last year were all located in the country's industrialized north, led by Brescia and followed by Lodi, Monza and Venice, according to Legambiente.
The EU has established health-based standards for a number of air pollutants, including PM10, lead, ozone, benzene and carbon monoxide. For PM10, the limit value is 50 micrograms per cubic meter as a daily average, not to be exceeded more than 35 times in a calendar year. The respective figures for ozone are 120 micrograms per cubic meter and 25 days, according to the European Commission.
By comparison, the residents of the city of Brescia were exposed to excessive PM10 levels for 47 days and to excessive ozone levels for 103 days in 2018 alone, according to the Legambiente report.
The report cited traffic as the number one culprit in terms of air pollution, adding that there are 38 million cars on Italy's roads, and the population relies on cars for 65.3 percent of its transportation needs.
The Mediterranean country has one of the highest motorization rates in Europe, with an average of 65 cars per 100 inhabitants, compared to 38 cars per 100 residents in Berlin, London and Paris, Legambiente explained.
The report recommendeds that Italian cities should promote sustainable public transportation to encourage people to drive less and thereby to cut air pollution. Legambiente said 2018 "was a code red year in terms of air quality, and was marked by Italy's deferment to the European Court of Justice over its air quality infractions, which will cost (the country) stiff fines."
Air pollution kills an estimated 7 million people worldwide every year, and 91 percent of the global population lives in places where air pollution exceeds scientific guideline limits, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
