Red alert: Current fine dust levels are endangering the air quality in Dresden!

Red alert: Current fine dust levels are endangering the air quality in Dresden!

What is the air quality in Dresden? Current measurements show that the situation in the city is in a critical range on October 24, 2025. The measuring station on Winckelmannstrasse records fine dust particles up to PM10 per cubic meter of air and provides relevant data on air pollution. The limit values ​​for PM10 are 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air and may be exceeded a maximum of 35 times per year. But what about the other air pollutants?

Three values ​​come into play here: fine dust, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. Current limit values ​​classify air quality into different categories: “Very bad” is determined for nitrogen dioxide above 200 μg/m³ or fine dust above 100 μg/m³. The “Poor” category has a range of 101 to 200 μg/m³ for nitrogen dioxide and 51 to 100 μg/m³ for particulate matter. Moderate values, which pose less of a health risk, are between 41 and 100 μg/m³ for nitrogen dioxide, while fine dust between 35 and 50 μg/m³ is classified as “moderate”. Sensitive people are advised to avoid physical exertion outdoors if air quality is rated as “poor” or “very poor”. Fortunately, no health disadvantages are expected if the condition is “good” or “very good”.

Health effects and EU directives

The health effects of air pollution should not be underestimated. The EU reported that an estimated 239,000 people died in 2022 as a result of fine dust and 48,000 from nitrogen dioxide in the European Union. These tragic numbers would decrease significantly if the WHO guidelines were adhered to. The Federal Environment Agency emphasizes that the WHO's updated air quality guidelines are scientifically based and aim to protect the health of the population, although a revision of the EU limit values ​​is imminent. These new standards came into force on December 10, 2024.

There has been progress in recent years. Between 2005 and 2022, deaths due to particulate matter fell by an impressive 45%. The EU aims to reduce deaths by a further 55% by 2030. Nevertheless, air pollution remains the largest environmental health risk in Europe, as can also be seen in eea.europa.eu.

Weather conditions and temporary loads

A particularly critical issue is weather conditions that can cause hours of fine dust pollution in cities. These inversion weather conditions cause pollutants to build up and not be able to escape. A future-oriented look at air quality also includes taking into account the consequences of New Year's Eve fireworks. Fireworks release around 2,050 tonnes of fine dust every year, with levels peaking on New Year's Eve. Nevertheless, this is not classified as a central problem compared to the overall annual burden.

The need for measures to improve air quality is becoming increasingly clear, not only to protect the health of the population, but also to relieve the burden on local ecosystems that are suffering greatly from pollutants. The dnn.de reports that among the affected ecosystems in the EU, 73% are above critical There are load limits for eutrophication. Action is required here to sustainably protect both health and the environment.