Groningen has cleanest air of Dutch cities; A'dam most polluted

Groningen has the cleanest air of all the cities in the Netherlands. Amsterdam has the worst air quality, the European Environment Agency (EEA) concluded in a study of air quality in 323 European cities. The Swedish city of Umea has the cleanest air in Europe, the Polish city of Nowy Sacz is most polluted.

The researchers ranked the air quality from good to very poor, based on the amount of particulate matter in the air. Cities with good air quality have less fine particulate matter than the annual guideline value of the World Health Organization. Cities with very poor air quality have more particulate matter than the European Union Limit. The data was combined in a city air quality viewer.

All the Dutch cities in the ranking have good air quality, except for Amsterdam (poor) and Nijmegen (moderate). Groningen came in 32nd place in the European ranking. Amsterdam ranked 182nd, Nijmegen 136th.

"While air quality has improved markedly over the past years, air pollution remains stubbornly high in many cities across Europe," EEA executive director Hans Bruynickx said. According to him, the data collected in the EEA's city air quality viewer "provides concrete and local information which can empower citizens towards their local authorities to address the issues."

Dutch cities in the city air quality viewer (European ranking in brackets):

1. Groningen (32)
2. 's-Gravenhage (34)
3. Heerlen (35)
4. Enschede (41)
5. Breda (43)
6. Utrecht (113)
7. Rotterdam (123)
8. Nijmegen (136)
9. Amsterdam (182)