Dangerous air quality throughout much of Norway

At four different locations in Oslo, the air shows signs of “high pollution” which, according to the Norwegian Institute for Air Research’s monitoring site, luftkvalitet.info, pose “significant health risks” for persons with cardiovascular or respiratory conditions.

 

There are also air quality red alerts in Gjøvik, Hamar, Kristiansand, Bærum, Fredrikstad, Lillehammer, Moss and Stavanger.

 

“There are warnings for high pollution levels today, especially during rush hour. Especially along heavily trafficked roads,” Oslo Municipality wrote on Twitter.

 

In addition to the red alert locations, several other places showed moderate air pollution on Tuesday morning. In Bergen, Drammen, Lillesand, Sarpsborg, Grenland and Tromsø, the air quality is worse than normal.

 

With the alarm lights blinking, the Labour Party has repeated its demanded that low emissions zones be established in Oslo, VG newspaper reported. 

 

“Despite parliament on May 3rd unanimously adopting our bill on the introduction of low emission zones in areas where it exceeds the limits, [Transport] Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen continues to hamper regulation efforts, so that we are entering a new winter without the measures we need,” Labour MP Jahn Bøhler (Labor) said.

 

Solvik-Olsen told VG that the government is currently working on a solution.