Many people know that Wellington as the windiest city in the world. In spite of this, the freshness of Wellington’s air has been ranked second on a table of the 10 cleanest capitals.
The list is based on a new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that considers pollution will cause a greater harm to human health than HIV and Ebola.
Swedish capital Stockholm took first place, followed by New Zealand’s own windy city.
Wellington’s comparatively low population and waterside location were taken into consideration in it’s ranking, as well as it being the capital city of a country well known for its outdoor lifestyle, fresh air, and amazing nature.
WHO experts assert that cities must try to have an annual average of no more than 10 micrograms of PM2.5 for each cubic metre of air. The Greater Regional Council has a task to measure levels of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide in the air at a few locations in the region.
The results from this inspection are compared to national quality standards or instructions created to protect human health.
Council representative Jim Flack said the latest data showed that the region had excellent air quality most of the time.
“Wellington, Porirua, and the Kapiti Coast mostly don’t have air quality problems because of their coastal location,” the report said.
The report also showed that transport pollution was large in the region, but did not cause violation of national standards and instructions.
Wellington ambassador and city councilor Simon Woolf said he was complacent but not surprised by this achievement.
“Wellingtonians are very caring about their environment and we have huge amount of greenery including town Belt, Western Corridor and even Zealandia. People visit us and are absolutely stunned that we are capital city and that they are just 10 minutes of ride away from amazing and pure nature,” he said.
Here is The List of The Cleanest Capitals
1. Stockholm, Sweden
2. Wellington, New Zealand
3. Canberra, Australia
4. Ottawa, Canada
5. Edinburgh, Scotland
6. Montevideo, Uruguay
7. Tallinn, Estonia
8. Helsinki, Finland
9. Monaco
10. Madrid, Spain
