Peak in particulate matter on Friday in Brussels

The air quality in Brussels on Friday was worse than in Beijing, reports brusselnieuws.be based on a report by Frans Fierens of the Belgian Interregional Environment Agency (IRCEL-CELINE). The daily average for particulate matter reached levels of more than double the European annual average, putting Brussels on par with Beijing for a day, the Chinese city infamous for its smog.

Paul De Grauwe, professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science and professor emeritus at KU Leuven, sent an angry tweet to the world on Friday, which read: “Air quality (PM2.5) in Brussels now worse than in Beijing, Shanghai and London. Nobody Seems To Care in Brussels." The tweet was a reference to the ample attention given to the partial eclipse on the same day.

The daily average of particulate matter concentrations for particles that are less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) reached 92 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) in the Brussels-Capital Region on Friday, according to the IRCEL-CELINE website. The peak occurred just after 12.00, with a PM2.5 value of 135 µg/m3 measured in Neder-Over-Heembeek.

These small fine dust particles are the most dangerous, because they penetrate into the lungs.

Air quality across Belgium was exceptionally poor last week due to mass fertilising of fields by farmers, resulting in high particulate matter in the air stretching from northern France and Belgium to the Netherlands and Germany.