Why is there so much pollution in Italy, especially the north, compared to the rest of Western Europe?

25 comments

1. I think that explanation is that there is industry in the north and it is valley surrounded by mountains.

2. air blocked by 3 mountain ranges

3. >Industrial activity is concentrated in the north from Turin in the west through Milan to Venice in the east. This region is one of the most industrialized and prosperous areas in the world and accounts for more than 50% of Italy’s national income. Italy’s southern region, or “Mezzogiorno,” is less developed.

   [https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/italy-market-overview](https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/italy-market-overview)

4. It’s the area with the lowest mean wind speeds in Europe. https://globalwindatlas.info/en

5. Northern Italy is one large valley surrounded by mountains, it is also industrialized and densely populated. It is basicly an ideal zone for air polution.

6. Mountains on three sides (Alps north and west, Apennines south).

7. industry.

8. Ferrari exhaust fumes

9. High population density, high concentration of industries, high mountains on three sides that prevent the circulation of the air 

10. It’s a valley surrounded by three large mountain chains, plus it’s heavily industrialized and a lot of winter heating systems in residential houses are still using firewood and/or wood pellets.

11. It’s same reason why on lower Poland. Mountains.

12. I think due to the Italian industry located mainly in the north part of the country plus the Alps and other mountains kind of blocking the air “refreshment” partially. Mountains really affect climate and stuff, look at Greece, Pindos mountain range “stops” the rainy clouds coming from the west’, western Greece has significantly more rain and green than central and eastern Greece.

13. Everyone explaining Milano with the mountain ranges. Let’s talk about the real MVP Napoli here.

14. Bruh check southern Poland lol

15. So nice if you not to include Poland in your map

16. #thermal inversion

    What makes air particularly bad in the Po Valley is the phenomenon of thermal inversion, where a cushion of colder air is stuck near to the ground, with warmer air above. That cushion of air is also where the smog gets stuck. This happens when the Sun is unable to heat up the ground much during the day, so it’s something typical of the winter months.

    In summer, the ground gets heated up fast by the Sun, making warmer air rise up in a convective movement. This makes for a much better circulation of air, and better air quality.

    So saying that “there is no particular season” is absolutely false, air quality is significantly better in the summer months compared to the winter months in the Po Valley

    https://epod.usra.edu/blog/2023/03/thermal-inversion-over-po-valley-italy.html#:~:text=Thermal%20inversions%20aren't%20uncommon,distance%2C%20just%20above%20the%20surface.

17. I live in this area. There’s barely ever any wind here due to the topography, so any pollution created here tends to stick for a long while. There are also many pollution creators: factories, quarries, and tons of people that heat their homes with wood burning fireplaces.

18. mountains

19. Because unfortunately Turchino is still there

20. Because they didn’t open a window on the Turchino Pass

21. Why belgium is grey

22. It rains a lot here in Belgium, is that why we grey?

23. Don’t look at Poland..

24. Went to that region recently and it was pretty grim how they treated the environment. Lots of rivers had open sewage and litter in them. Farmers openly burn agricultural waste on a daily basis instead of disposing of it properly. And of course it’s also very industrial there.

25. Surrounded by mountains and heavily industrialised.

    I live in this part of the country. Sigh.