Breathe, you are in Montpellier. According to the ranking published on February 8 by Point, the capital of Hérault is the major city in France that is least polluted by PM 2.5, these fine particles emitted mainly by transport or industry. This pollution is far from trivial: according to Public Health France, chronic exposure to PM 2.5 represents, on average, for people aged 30 and over, a loss of life expectancy of nearly eight months. Each year, moreover, nearly 40,000 deaths can be attributed to these invisible particles that threaten our health.
Of course, if Montpellier sits proudly at the top of this list, the annual concentration of PM 2.5 which is measured there annually (7.2529 ug/m3) is still well above the recommendations of the World Health Organization. health (WHO), lowered to 5 ug/m3 in 2021. But why does Montpellier stand out? For the municipality, requested by 20 minutes, this first place, even if it must be taken without boasting, is the result of a political determination. And this, for a long time: the pedestrianization of the city center in the 1980s, the development of the tramway in the 2000s, or, more recently, the opening of wood-fired boiler rooms have, without a doubt, reduced particulate emissions. fine. According to the weekly’s rankings, PM 2.5 air pollution there fell by 50% between 2009 and 2021.
Thanks to elected officials… And to the wind blowing over Occitania!
For the city of Montpellier, this ranking is “an encouragement to pursue the current policy, with ambitious objectives”. Free public transport for all at the end of the year, the new city center traffic plan, the extension of the tramway, the creation of a bustram and the development of cycle paths are some of the projects necessary for this paradigm shift.
But elected officials are not the only ones to fight fine particle pollution in Montpellier. The wind also has an important role. “The presence of the mistral and the tramontane causes the particles to disperse”, explains to 20 minutes Grégory Langlet, engineer at the Agate Météo meteorological office. A proof that the wind which blows on Occitania weighs, it is that other large agglomerations of the region are at the top of the classification of the Point : Perpignan is 2nd, Béziers, 4th and Nîmes, 6th.