Improvement of air quality in Essen: Current limit values ​​for the first time!

Improvement of air quality in Essen: Current limit values ​​for the first time!

The air quality on the A40 in Essen has improved slightly in 2024 and reaches a historic milestone. According to the information from Radio Oberhausen , the limit for nitrogen dioxide on the measuring point on Kruppstrasse was not exceeded for the first time. The average value was 39 micrograms per cubic meter, while in the previous year 2023 it was 41 micrograms.

This positive development is remarkable because the measuring point was the only one in North Rhine-Westphalia for many years that regularly exceeded limit values. In autumn 2023, the country introduced a speed limit of 60 km/h for vehicles in the section between Essen-Fronhausen and Essen-Zentrum in autumn 2023. This regulation applies during the day and is intended to increase the flow of traffic and reduce traffic jams and associated exhaust gases, according to the reporting of wdr .

challenges in the area

Despite the improvement in Essen, there is a less gratifying picture in Oberhausen. There were hardly any changes in the measured values. Only minimal deviations for the previous year were found at the measuring stations on Mülheimer Straße and Duisburger Straße. Here, too, the permissible limit values ​​for air pollutants are not reached per year, such as Radio Oberhausen

The final evaluation of the air quality in Essen by the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV) is still pending, but is expected for the coming months. It is only known from the country that the regulation of the speed limit should be valid until the middle of the year, a possible extension is considered.

in the context of national air quality development

These developments are part of a general debate about air quality in Germany. Air quality fluctuations are known and the average pollution is decreasing with increasing distance from urban metropolitan areas. In some areas, there are particularly high loads from fine dust (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), such as Environmental Bundesamt

The Federal Environment Agency continuously records the air pollution in Germany by around 400 measuring stations. This data is published in annual evaluations and show the development of air quality over the years, whereby places are characterized by particularly high loads. The Interactive UBA interactive map service provides a comprehensive overview of the air quality situation in Germany since 2000.