Oulu still has the cleanest air quality in Europe

The International Day of Clean Air was celebrated on Monday September 7. The goal of the day, named by the UN General Assembly, is to increase people’s awareness about air quality and encourage people to act in order to improve it. Clean air is important for the health and life of people. 

Oulu and Finland may be proud of their clean air. Oulu still has the most clean air out of all European cities according to the European Environment Agency’s updated air quality comparison! The top ten cities also included Finnish cities Jyväskylä, Tampere, Kuopio, Espoo, and Lahti. In the comparison, cities were listed from cleanest to most polluted based on pollutant-related risk of death. See the full comparison at the address: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/air-pollution/european-city-air-quality-viewer.   

Good air quality in Oulu is a sum of many factors. The extensive district heating network, good public transportation, and investing in cycling paths reduce traffic- and heating-related emissions. The gradual shift from private driving and heavy machinery to low-emission fuels have a positive effect on air quality. Also, Oulu’s distant location from large European cities and industrial areas reduces long-distance transport of air pollutants into Oulu. 

Clean air in Finland protects health 

Globally, one out of eight deaths are caused by air pollutants, but the pollutant-related risk of death is not that high in Finland. In Finland, 3 out of 100 000 deaths are caused by air pollutants – globally the statistic is 12 500. Data is derived from the materials of the Health Effects Institute and State of Global Air 2024 (www.stateofglobalair.org).