We have friends in Bologna right now and left after one night because the air pollution is so bad. We plan on going there for four nights next May and are concerned because my husband has a minor lung condition. Can anyone familiar with the city and local environmental conditions comment on this? Would the air be cleaner in one of the surrounding towns that we can use as a base instead?
Posted by
Paris
7312 posts
Air pollution is a regular problem in the plains of northern Italy, including Bologna, but I am only seeing readings somewhere between "moderate" and "unhealthy for sensitive groups" right now, basically on par with Los.Angeles, so I am not sure about the specific conditions that compelled your friends to leave.
In any case, the main pollutants in the area are fine particles and ozone. Those spread over large areas; being outside the city will not help.
Posted by
Vignola, Modena, Italy
555 posts
The whole northern Italy is a polluted area.
In any case, if this website is reliable, the air quality level in Bologna is similar than the one in New York: https://aqicn.org/map/bologna/
And much better than in southern California!
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7051 posts
In general, northern Italy (the Po Valley) has some of the worst air quality in Europe. And the worst air quality in countries west of the former iron curtain. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/20/revealed-almost-everyone-in-europe-breathing-toxic-air
Going outside the city might not help that much, but going somewhere south of the Apennines, like Florence, can make a difference.
That being said, air quality varies and May might be a good month. I am also not in any way qualified to give medical advice and suggest that your husband asks his doctor about it.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16133 posts
In Southern California, like in the rest of the State, the air quality varies greatly depending on the exposure to the Pacific Ocean breezes. Even Los Angeles has good quality from downtown west to the ocean, and bad quality air east of downtown in the inland empire.
However I don't see Bologna having particularly bad air quality today. But if you are from Nice and used to coastal air, then anything in the Po plain will be worse than what you are used to.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1199 posts
> And much better than in southern California!
Really? Not according to the map cited above.
Air quality index right now in Bologna is 87; local reading on the map for my neighborhood just northeast of downtown LA is 52. A more generalized read here in LA is 63. And it's a case where a lower number is better.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11946 posts
Interesting link provided by ricky.
In my area the reading is 5; at the local garbage transfer station it is 53 (about 4 miles away)
Where the monitor is has a lot to do with what reading you get, and can be quite variable in a fairly local area.
Posted by
OP
Nice, France
60 posts
Thanks, everyone. Especially those who provided links! This gives us the information we need to continue with our plans, check the air quality before we go, and most importantly, bring along a few extra masks! Cheers, mmebonnie