In 2017, around 14% of the population in the European Union declared they had experienced exposure to pollution, grime and other environmental issues in the region, according to a Eurostat report.
However, the overall figure conceals differences between the individual member states. Luxembourg is considered to be in the higher range, with 18.5% of residents saying they had been exposed to these problems in 2017. A figure which has increased exponentially in recent years.
Although the study does not detail the exact causes, it is certain that traffic-related pollution is a contributor. Last June, Luxembourg was heavily criticised by the European Commission on the subject. According to the latter, air pollution and the excess car traffic in peak hours put the Grand Duchy in a serious situation in terms of ecology and health.
Luxembourg’s score, however, was lower than that of Malta, ranked the worst with 26.5%, followed by Germany (24.5%) and Greece (20.3%).
At the other end of the scale, the 3 northernmost EU states (Denmark, Sweden and Finland) and Croatia recorded some of the lowest self-reported exposure rates, between 6 and 8% of their populations. The country with the smallest percentage of the population reporting pollution exposure was the Republic of Ireland, at 5.3%.
Looking at measured levels of air pollution, however, Eurostat data suggest that Luxembourg has among the lowest levels of air pollution in the Union - at 11.2 micrograms per m3, only 6 other countries — Finland (4.9), Estonia (5.3), Sweden (5.4), Ireland (7.7), Denmark (9.2), and the UK (10) have lower measured levels than the Grand Duchy.
The EU average is 14.1, and the highest levels were reported in Bulgaria (23.8), Poland (23.8), Hungary (20.9), Romania (20.4), and Slovenia (19.7).
As previously reported by RTL Today, a study carried out by IQAir also found Luxembourg’s air — specifically mesured in Esch, Luxembourg City, and Junglinster — to be of ‘good’ quality, the best overall category.
