There is a good chance of smog in the entire Netherlands on Tuesday, public health institute RIVM warns. Those sensitive to dirty air, for example people with respiratory problems, are advised to stay inside, especially during the afternoon and early evening, RTL Nieuws reports.
"For the entire country, air quality can be bad, but the highest concentrations are expected in the east", the RIVM said. The smog will be at its worst during the afternoon and early evening.
Air quality in Dutch city centers will meet European standards by the end of this year, according to a new prognoses State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure presented to parliament on Monday. To help achieve this goal, Van Veldhoven is pushing 10 million euros extra into measures to improve air quality in Amsterdam, Arnhem, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Utrecht, ANP reports.
Rotterdam is allowed to ban petrol cars made before 1 July 1992 from the environmental zone in the city center, the Council of State ruled on Wednesday, overturning a previous court ruling, NU.nl reports.
Easter bonfires are causing an increased concentration in particulate matter in the air in some parts of the Netherlands, particularly in Overijssel and Achterhoek. "Especially people with lung diseases such as asthma and COPD, and (older) people with cardiovascular disease may suffer", public health institute RIVM warns, NOS reports.
According to the RIVM, the problem lies in the calm weather with not much wind. As a result, smoke and particulate matter can remain in place for a long time. The institute warns people to avoid the smoke as much as possible.
State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure and Water Management plans to implement around 100 extra measures to ensure that air quality throughout the Netherlands meets European standards, ANP reports.
If no further measures are taken, the Netherlands will only meet the World Health Organization's clean air advice standards by 2030. And even then, the air won't be exactly healthy, the Health Council wrote in a new report. The "blanket of pollution" will cause major health problems in the Netherlands for years to come, according to the Health Council, RTL Nieuws reports.
On Wednesday the court in The Hague ruled against Milieudefensie in a lawsuit filed by the environmental group to force the Dutch government to take more measures to reduce air pollution. According to the court, the Dutch State is taking sufficient measures to improve air quality, NU.nl reports.
Vondelpark is the only place in Amsterdam that meets the strict air quality standards of the World Health Organization, according to the city's annual publication Amsterdam in figures 2017. Air quality in the rest of the city is improving, but the air still contains too much particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, RTL Nieuws reports.
Air quality was measured in ten spots throughout the Dutch capital for this publication. In the area of particulate matter, air quality in Amsterdam does meet the European standards, which are less stringent than those of the WHO.
Environmental organization Milieudefensie is recruiting "air guards" in the seven large cities in the Netherlands - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, Den Bosch, Eindhoven and Arnhem. These air guards' job will be to make sure their municipalities take steps to improve air quality in their region, the Volkskrant reports.
The city of Arnhem will ban diesel cars produced before 2004 form the city center by January 1st, 2019 at the latest, the college of mayor and aldermen decided. This decision was met with fierce criticism from the royal Netherlands' automobile club KNAC.
"The air in the city center is too dirty", Arnhem's mobility alderman Geert Ritsema explained, according to De Gelderlander. "Residents of the city center on average live over one year shorter due to the poor air. We have to take our responsibility and act now."
Despite improvements over the past years, the air in Gelderland is still anything but clean, according to a report from public health service GGD Gelderland-Midden. The researchers concluded that two babies per year die due to air pollution in the province and breathing the Gelderland air is, on average, equal to smoking six cigarettes per day, Omroep Gelderland reports.
In the summary proceedings court on Wednesday, environmental organization Milieudefensie demanded that the Dutch state immediately implement measures to reduce air pollution. Campaign leader Anne Knol calls it "absolutely necessary that measures be taken quickly to make the air healthier", NOS reports.
The organization already filed an ordinary lawsuit for this, but Milieudefensie thinks this will take too long.
Emissions from scooters and mopeds are so high that they are harmful to cyclists' health, according to a study done by municipal health institute GGD Gelderland-Midden. The health institute calls for scooters and mopeds to be removed from the bike path and onto the road in order to immediatley improve the air quality for cyclists, RTL Nieuws reports.
Air quality in the Netherlands will be very bad in the coming days, public health institute RIVM warns. The institute therefore decided to issue a smog warning effective until Friday
Environmental group Milieudefensie, the Dutch Friends of the Earth, is suing the Dutch government over air pollution in the country. The group is demanding that the country complies to European standards within six months
While the docking of the world's largest cruise ship Harmony of the Seas in Rotterdam on Tuesday led to much excitement among boat lovers, the ship's two giant diesel engines are raising some environmental concern. The massive cruise ship is equipped with two engines that are four stories high and burn a total of 250 thousand liters of diesel a day
The Dutch institute for public health and environment RIVM is launching an investigation into what effects increasing the speed limit to 130 kilometers per hour will have on air pollution
Air quality in Utrecht improved more than air quality in Amsterdam and Rotterdam over the past year, according to a study done by research institute TNO. This can likely be attributed to Utrecht's implementation of an environmental zone banning old cars, but other factors may also be involved, the research institute concluded
Air quality in the Netherlands does not meet European standards. A number of places in the country has more nitrogen dioxide in the air than the maximum permitted annual average of 40 micrograms per cubic meter, according to a report Milieudefensie is handing to Amsterdam alderman Abdeluheb Choho on Wednesday
The Mayors of 26 European capital cities are gathering in Amsterdam on Thursday for the fifth edition of the Mayors Meeting. The meeting will be led by Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan. The four main topics on the agenda are mobility and air quality, affordable housing, radicalization and the refugee crisis.
A group of classic car enthusiasts protested against environmental zones along the four big cities in the Netherlands on Sunday. Initiator Rotterdamse Klassiekers feels that the environmental zones will mean that classic cars such as 1941 Cadillac or a 1971 NSU Ro 80 will disappear from the streets
The increase in speed limits to 130 kilometers per hour taking effect on many highways today, will compromise the air quality, according to researchers from both the RIVM and TNO. These researchers believe it likely that the increased speed limits will result in the Netherlands exceeding the European standard for air quality
A majority of the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, voted for the VVD proposal to remove environmental zones banning old diesel cars from cities. According to the VVD, these zones are useless and expensive
The cabinet is working an a new smog alarm to better inform the more than a million Dutch people suffering from respiratory problems of impurities in the air.
