Record heat in Italy and fine dust skyrockets: here’s where

The air of large cities in these days of record temperatures is unbreathable, with fine dust levels even two and a half times higher than standard values. The worst situation in Lombardy

ROME – In our large cities, pollution caused mainly by road traffic is now aggravated by thermal stress as a direct consequence of climate change. Based on international parameters, Ener2Crowd.com, the number one sustainable investment and savings platform in Italy, has updated the air quality index to date, developing the ranking of the 10 most polluted cities in our country .

On the podium we find: 1) Milano, with an index of 56; 2) Bergamo, with an index equal to 55; 3) Bresciawith an index of 56. In these three Lombard cities the main pollutants are fine dust and in particular PM2.5, which reaches values ​​of 12µg/m3, 11.4 µg/m3 and 8 µg/m3 respectively.

“The concentration of PM2.5 in Milan is currently 2.4 times the annual guideline value of the World Health Organization on air quality and the concentration is almost identical also in Bergamo” underlines Giorgio Mottironi, CSO and co-founder of the benefit company Ener2Crowd, Chief Analyst of the GreenVestingForum, the forum of alternative green finance, as well as Special Assistant to the Secretary-General for Environmental and Scientific Affairs of the World Organization for International Relations (WOIR).

Following in this ranking are: 4) Padova (index 51); 5) Venicea (index 50); 6) Bolzano (index 48); 7) Ravenna (index 46); 8) Firenze (index 45); 9) Pavia (index 42); 10) Roma (index 39).

“The situation will worsen even more in July, when temperatures will rise and consequently the air quality will worsen,” says Niccolò Sovico, CEO and co-founder of the benefit company Ener2Crowd, which specializes in alternative finance.
According to the platform’s analysts, this year we will have even higher temperatures than last summer, which had already set the record for days with greater extreme thermal stress, measured in terms of perceived temperatures above 46 degrees.

In short a deadly heatespecially for older people. Not to mention the fireswhich in 2023 devastated 5,000 square kilometers of forest, an area almost as large as Liguria, including the fire in Greece – the largest ever recorded in Europe – which destroyed an area of ​​960 square kilometers. “Precisely driven by the climate crisis, extreme forest fires are constantly increasing on a global level: in the last two decades, their frequency and intensity have more than doubled, with an accumulation of the most extreme events especially in the last few years” highlights Giorgio Mottironi.

But pollution caused by road traffic is also exacerbated by climate change. In short, we find ourselves having to face an explosive storm that endangers our health. “Italy is even the first country in Europe for deaths attributable to air pollution with 80 thousand premature deaths per year, more than triple compared to Spain, for example, where air pollution causes 26 thousand premature deaths annually” Ener2Crowd analysts observe based on the latest data from the European Environment Agency.
(SAY) Rome, 1 July. – The data coincides with that of the World Health Organization (WHO) which found that air pollution causes more than 3 million premature deaths worldwide every year. According to Ener2Crowd specialists, polluting emissions can however be reduced by 50% by promoting zero-energy buildings and electric vehicles. And the same can be done through alternative finance. “By investing even just 4.6% of our financial wealth every year, therefore around 40 thousand euros per capita for a total of 227 billion euros, in ESG certified products and solutions we can cancel our carbon footprint and suddenly bring the country to achieve over 50% of the sustainable transition objectives by 2030″ say the experts. A collective benefit, but not only that: there are also important margins of return. Today, companies are willing to offer returns ranging from 9% to 12% gross per year to investors willing to support their projects for the reduction of CO2 emissions through debt, and in particular through crowdinvesting services.
For the richest, then, “investing in a sustainable way” is the opportunity to do the right thing, demonstrating the positive role they can have, also in relation to their living standards and consumption styles. “Our commitment is towards a just energy transition, combining the global challenge of climate change with the generation of opportunities” conclude the founders of what is the largest investment fund in the energy transition present in Italy today.