Following an alarming surge in unhealthy fine particle matter in the air in the centre of Paris, officials from Ile-de-France have warned that bad weather and rising pollution levels will pass them over the threshold for poor air quality. According to Airparif (the air quality monitoring network for Ile-de-France), the concentration of unhealthy particles in the air is expected to be between 45 and 55 μg / m3. This is dangerously close to the warning threshold of 50 μg / m3; high level of fatal pollution will be seen in the capital unless drastic action is taken by the city's residents.
Parisian police are calling upon drivers and motorists in Ile-de-France to reduce their speed from 130 km/h - 110 km/h on the motorways, from 110 km/h - 90 km/h on fast lanes and dual carriageways, and from 90 km/h - 70 km/h elsewhere. Anyone driving a vehicle over 3.5 tonnes in weight has been asked to avoid the capital completely. In a press brief they explained: "Ile-de-France is experiencing a new episode of fine-particle air pollution, as a result of unfavourable weather, the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, as well as wood burning and city traffic."
These fine particles - like "PM2.5 particles" - are measuring 2.5 micrometers or less, and are known to produce respiratory and cardiovascular illness; they are small enough to invade even the smallest airways of the human body. In 2016 a study found that air pollution is the cause of 48,000 people in France every year, most of these deaths could be seen as preventable, this is a large number but not comparable to the amount of people affected - according to the World Health Organisation, around 47 Million are exposed to an unsafe level of particles.
