The Car-Free Sunday in Brussels again positively impacted air quality and reduced noise pollution. So says the Brussels public service Brussels Environment. On the 23rd Car-Free Sunday, concentrations of nitrogen monoxide and dioxide dropped by 95 and 77%, respectively, compared to a normal Sunday.

Readings were taken on Regent Avenue, a spot near Arts-Loi/Kunst-Wet where traffic is normally heaviest. “A decrease that is even greater compared to an average weekday,” says spokesperson Pascale Housman. Overall, the Car-Free Sunday improved air quality, with a significant drop in concentrations of several pollutants.

Nitrogen monoxide (NO) decreased by 43 to 82% compared to an average Sunday and 70 to 92% compared to an average weekday. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), in turn, dropped by 40 to 86% compared to a normal Sunday and 61 to 91% compared to a normal weekday.

As for black carbon (BC), soot that can penetrate very deeply into the lungs and blood because of its small size, it dropped by 36 to 46% and 51 to 61%, compared to an average Sunday and weekday, respectively.

In terms of noise pollution, there was a strong decrease in background noise in the various measuring stations near roads. For instance, noise levels near highway E40 in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe were reportedly reduced by 99% compared to the previous Sunday.

Still a long way to go

Brussels Environment is seizing the Car-Free Sunday to prevent how polluting road traffic is – with all its health consequences – and what the positive impact on air quality and noise levels would be if we did without it.

“The aim is to reduce polluting emissions, especially nitrogen dioxide, which comes from transport, among other things. Over the 2019-2022 period, annual concentrations fell by 10%, on average. So, the evolution is positive, but there is still a long way to go,” says the spokesperson.

The introduction of zone 30 in the Brussels Region on 1 January 2021 has already significantly impacted noise levels. Going from 50 to 30 km/hour reduces traffic noise by 50%. No gasoline-engine vehicles will be allowed on Brussels territory from 1 January 2035. Introducing the low-emission zone (LEZ) also improved air quality in Brussels and pushed diesel cars out.

According to the European Environment Agency, air pollution caused 8 950 premature deaths in Belgium, in 2018.