Dublin’s air quality ranks among best in the world

The most harmful forms of air pollution significantly dropped in Dublin in the winter months last year, making it one of the cleanest capital cities in the world.

The air quality data compiled by IQAir, a Swiss company, ranks pollution levels in 120 major cities worldwide, hour by hour, to give a real-time snapshot of the atmosphere.

Over the past week, Dubliners have been breathing some of the cleanest air in the world as the capital ranked sixth last Wednesday and eighth on Thursday, ahead of the Swiss capital Bern and the Japanese city of Osaka.

“It does rank as one of the cleaner cities in the world, especially when it comes to major cities,” said Armen Araradian, a spokesperson for IQAir North America.

“As far as what is making Ireland so clean right now, wet weather definitely plays a role as it can dilute pollution. Winds also play a large role, filtering out particulate matter.

“The end of winter months when Ireland sees a decrease in wood and gas burning is also likely playing a role, as warming temperatures mean fewer people using burning warmth methods that contribute to poor air quality.”

IQAir compiles annual reports on the air breathed in by the populations of over 7,000 cities, towns and metropolitan areas. Last year, Dublin was ranked 6,330 out of 7,812 metropolitan areas around the globe for clean air.

The pollution studied is called fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, because it refers to solid particles less than 2.5 micrometres in size.

These particles, small enough to enter the bloodstream, are the deadliest form of air pollution, leading to millions of premature deaths across the planet every year.

Dr Christi Chester-Schroeder, IQAir’s air-quality science manager, said the Irish weather can affect the concentration of these particles.

“Two of the largest sources of air pollution in Dublin are traffic-related emissions and solid fuel burning,” Dr Chester-Schroeder said.

“In 2023, there were major reductions in PM2.5 concentrations in January, March and December.

“According to the Annual Climate Statement for 2023 by the Irish Meteorological Society, last year was the warmest on record, with above average rainfall.

“The warmer temperatures lead to reduced solid fuel burning emissions, and the rainfall captures PM2.5 particles in the atmosphere and carries them to the ground.”

The data shows PM2.5 concentration levels in Ireland have decreased every year since 2019.

“In IQAir’s 2022 World Air Quality Report, Ireland ranked 109 out of 131 countries,” said Mr Araradian. “In the 2023 report, Ireland ranks 119 out of 134 countries, regions and territories.

“Ireland’s PM2.5 concentration in 2023 decreased, representing yet another year when Ireland experienced decreasing levels of PM2.5 concentration.”

On the live list last week, Munich ranked highly, with Dublin in sixth place, just above Vancouver and San Francisco.

Dr Chester-Schroeder said population is another factor contributing to Ireland’s cleaner air.

“Ireland’s population is only around five million, and the less population a country has, the less it uses emission sources such as transportation and factories.”