"Satisfactory" values?

How bad the air in Vienna really is

The meteorologists at Hohe Warte also continue to swim in Vienna's foggy soup.

(Bild: Philipp Stewart)

Cell phone weather apps have been sounding the alarm for days, but according to City Hall, the air quality in Vienna is "satisfactory". This is largely due to the limit value for particulate matter set by law. But this is currently changing.

Staying here "for a longer period of time could pose a risk", weather apps on cell phones recently warned of "extremely bad" air in Vienna. This was due to levels in the finest particulate matter category (PM 2.5). The WHO recommendation of no more than 15 µg/m³ per day was exceeded eleven times in Vienna last month alone. According to the Vienna Air Quality Report, however, the particulate matter values were "satisfactory" - because although PM 2.5 is measured in Vienna, it plays no role in the assessment of air quality.

A recommendation is not a limit value
Heinz Tizek, responsible for air quality measurement at MA 22, reassures us first of all: the WHO values are not about quantities of particulate matter that are hazardous to health, but about recommendations for what can be considered really clean air. The air in Vienna is "better in 2024 than we could have imagined 15 years ago". Ten years ago, there were around 100 days a year with such high levels of pollution, now there are only a handful.

New limit values in two years at the latest
Tizek believes that the measurement models of the cell phone weather apps are essentially accurate. However, he criticizes the fact that warnings of "extremely bad air" are not commented on: "People are left alone with this, which naturally makes them feel insecure." However, Tizek also finds it "unsatisfactory, no question" that the Vienna Air Quality Report looks the other way when it comes to PM 2.5 particulate matter. This is because the EU has so far specified measurements of total particulate matter (PM 10) without subdivisions. But this is currently changing.

25 µg/m³ particulate matter (PM 2.5) per day

will be the EU-wide limit value in future. At the weekend, a peak value of 47 µg/m³ was reached in Vienna, the average value was 43 µg/m³.

In future, the EU will set a maximum daily limit of 25 µg/m³ PM 2.5 particulate matter and an annual average of 10 µg/m³ per day. According to Tizek, Vienna will only be allowed to change its air quality assessment once Austria has passed corresponding legislation - the Republic has two years to do so.

Situation will slowly improve over the next few days
In any case, the situation is set to improve over the next few days: the high-pressure weather, which has prevented air exchange and thus kept the particulate matter in the city like a lid, is changing. Pollution levels are already beginning to fall slightly. However, it will still be a few days before the accumulated particulate matter is "blown out" of Central Europe to the west, during which particles from neighboring countries will be transported away via Vienna.

However, the Federal Environment Agency calculates that the general fine dust pollution in Vienna must fall by a quarter so that the alarm bells do not ring regularly in future - both on cell phones and in the Vienna Air Quality Report. If the upcoming EU values for the maximum permissible annual PM 2.5 levels are taken as a benchmark, Vienna would have failed to meet the targets in each of the last three years.