Oulu has been named the European city with the cleanest air for a second consecutive year, according to the latest comparison from the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The updated assessment covers 761 cities across Europe and ranks them according to the health risks associated with long-term exposure to air pollution. The comparison includes cities with more than 50,000 residents where air quality is monitored, placing urban areas on a scale from the cleanest to the most polluted.
Oulu’s strong result was part of an unusually strong showing by Finnish cities. Five others, Jyväskylä, Tampere, Kuopio, Espoo and Lahti, also placed among Europe’s 10 cities with the cleanest air.
The City of Oulu attributes its air quality in part to efforts to reduce emissions from transport and heating. The city has an extensive district heating network, while public transport and investment in cycling infrastructure have helped provide alternatives to private car use.
Changes in the fuels used for both private and professional transport have also played a role. The growing use of lower-emission fuels has reduced the amount of pollution produced by vehicles, according to the city.
Oulu also benefits from its geographical position. Located well away from many of Europe’s largest population centres and industrial areas, the city is exposed to less pollution carried in from other parts of the continent. Air quality in a city is influenced not only by emissions produced locally, but also by pollution transported across regional and national borders.
The health implications of air pollution remain significant despite the relatively favourable situation in Finland. Globally, air pollution is associated with one in eight deaths, making exposure to polluted air a major public health concern.
Finland’s comparatively low risk of death linked to air pollution puts its cities in a strong position by European standards. Oulu’s second consecutive ranking at the top of the EEA comparison suggests that the combination of local environmental measures, cleaner transport and heating, and the city’s geographic location continues to provide residents with some of the cleanest urban air in Europe.
