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Alarming air quality in Göttingen: fine dust levels exceeded!
Current air quality measurements in Göttingen on July 13th, 2025: Fine dust, ozone and nitrogen dioxide are the focus of the health analysis.
Alarming air quality in Göttingen: fine dust levels exceeded!
Air quality has become increasingly important in recent years, and current data from measuring stations is essential. On July 13, 2025, a station on Bürgerstrasse in Göttingen provided measured values for important pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter. The limit value for fine dust (PM10) is 50 micrograms per cubic meter, although this value may be exceeded a maximum of 35 times per year. The state of air quality is assessed at various levels, with highly alarming levels of PM10 levels above 100 µg/m³ being considered “very poor”. These evaluations are important not only for the current health of the individual, but also to avoid long-term health risks.
As the Göttinger Tageblatt reports, air quality is measured as an hourly average for nitrogen dioxide and ozone as well as a sliding daily average for fine dust. It is alarming to know that around 240,000 premature deaths in the EU each year are due to particulate matter. If air conditions are poor, experts recommend that susceptible people avoid physical exertion outdoors.
Fine dust and its sources
The Federal Environment Agency has carried out comprehensive measurements in recent years that show a significant decrease in PM10 emissions. The annual average values of PM10 concentrations fell from 50 µg/m³ in the 1990s to values between 15 and 20 µg/m³ today. Nevertheless, metropolitan areas such as Munich and Essen are often affected by limit values that are exceeded, which contributes to the health risk to the population.
In addition, a current press release from Deutsche Umwelthilfe (German Environmental Aid) showed that 99 percent of the measuring stations in Germany exceed the WHO limit value recommendations for fine dust of 5 µg/m³. Almost three quarters of the stations measure values above the harmful limit for nitrogen dioxide of 10 µg/m³. This is an alarming sign that requires urgent political action.
Need for action and future measures
German Environmental Aid is calling on the federal government to take measures to lower the limit values in order to significantly reduce exposure to air pollutants. Compliance with the WHO limits could prevent around 28,900 premature deaths from fine dust and 10,000 from nitrogen dioxide in Germany every year. Time is of the essence, because in the negotiations on the EU Air Quality Directive the Federal Government is playing a less active role when it comes to urgent measures.
In summary, air quality is an issue that affects us all. The values that are measured in our cities every day are not just numbers, but have a direct impact on our health. It is up to us to be informed and raise our voices for better air quality.