Air pollution - Why care? (Italy)

Air quality represents one of the environmental emergencies that, together with climate change, to which it is closely connected, involves all citizens on a daily basis and is of most concern to administrators of local and central governments. This emergency affects not only Italy, but all the countries of Europe, and especially large urban areas, where the percentage of the population exposed to levels that exceed the limit values set under legislative and regulatory measures is highest. High air pollution causes health problems, reduced agricultural crop yields, changes in ecosystem function and species composition, and damage to buildings and materials. The pollutants most responsible for poor air quality are atmospheric particulate PM₁₀, tropospheric ozone and nitrogen dioxide.