MILAN: Pietro De Luca lives in Italy’s finance and fashion capital Milan but often thinks of moving to a cleaner city with his wife and three children to escape high pollution and the health risks it causes.

“It stinks! I smell a constant stench of smog, I cough, I feel my throat burning,” said De Luca, who lives in a second floor apartment in Milan’s eastern Citt Studi district.

Levels of fine particulates and other pollutants in Milan rank among the highest in Europe, data from the European Union’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service and Italian environmental lobby Legambiente showed this month.

Some residents are wearing face masks outdoors to reduce exposure to the dirty air. Roberto Lorenzutti, who used to live in Milan, says he breathes much better since he left. He had an opportunity to work remotely during the Covid-19 pandemic, and relocated to the island of Sardinia.

“In Milan you have to try and survive in this swamp for five days a week, and get yourself out for the weekend to get a breath of fresh air,” he said.

Milan and surrounding cities in Italy’s affluent northern region of Lombardy have responded by activating measures on Tuesday to limit the use of the most polluting vehicles during the main hours of the day.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2024