Air quality in Lüneburg: Red alert for fine dust measurements!

Air quality in Lüneburg: Red alert for fine dust measurements!

On January 5, 2025, the State newspaper Current data on air quality in Lüneburg. The measuring station on Zeppelinstrasse recorded fine dust particles up to PM10 per cubic meter of air. The legal limit for PM10 is 50 micrograms per cubic meter and may be exceeded a maximum of 35 times per year. To assess air quality, nitrogen dioxide and ozone are measured in addition to fine dust.

The limit values ​​for the various pollutants are defined as follows: For “very poor” quality, the limit values ​​are over 200 μg/m³ for nitrogen dioxide, over 100 μg/m³ for fine dust and over 240 μg/m³ for ozone. For “poor” quality, values ​​of 101-200 μg/m³ apply for nitrogen dioxide, 51-100 μg/m³ for fine dust and 181-240 μg/m³ for ozone. “Moderate” air quality includes values ​​of 41-100 μg/m³ for nitrogen dioxide, 35-50 μg/m³ for particulate matter and 121-180 μg/m³ for ozone. The measurements are carried out as an hourly average for nitrogen dioxide and ozone as well as an hourly daily moving average for fine dust.

Health risks and recommendations

In the European Union, air pollutants cause 240,000 premature deaths from particulate matter every year. If the air quality is poor, there are recommendations for sensitive people: if the quality is “very poor,” they should avoid physical exertion outdoors; If the quality is “poor”, you should avoid strenuous activities. With “moderate” quality, short-term health effects are unlikely, but possible effects in sensitive people. With “good” quality, no adverse health effects are to be expected, while with “very good” quality there are ideal conditions for outdoor activities.

The effects of New Year's Eve fireworks on fine dust pollution were also discussed. Although fireworks cause particulate matter, they cannot be classified as a major problem compared to year-round pollution. However, particulate matter levels can rise sharply after midnight, but quickly build up again when wind blows. Inversion weather conditions, on the other hand, can result in hours of fine dust pollution and the smoke from fireworks predominantly contains fine dust that is harmful to health. In total, fireworks release around 2,050 tons of fine dust every year, of which 1,500 tons (75%) occur on New Year's Eve.

In addition to these surveys, there is Federal Environment Agency states that fine dust measurements have been carried out in Germany for PM10 since 2000 and for PM2.5 since 2008. The annual average PM10 values ​​are now between 15 and 20 µg/m³ and have been falling since the 1990s. High measurement network densities exist in metropolitan areas where a large number of emitters such as traffic and industry occur. Weather-related fluctuations, such as high values ​​in dry winters or hot summers, also influence PM10 concentrations. Since 2012, no violations of the annual limit value of 40 µg/m³ have been detected.

– Submitted by West-East media