Braga avenue among Portugal's worst for nitrogen dioxide pollution

Environmental groups Zero and CPSA warned, on Clean Air Day, that Avenida Frei Bartolomeu dos Mártires in Braga remains one of Portugal's worst spots for nitrogen dioxide pollution, alongside Lisbon's Avenida da Liberdade. Official 2024 data show both exceeded the EU's annual NO2 limit of 40 μg/m3, mainly due to road traffic. Most traffic monitoring stations also breached stricter 2030 EU and WHO reference values. The groups called for urgent traffic-reduction measures, restrictions on the most polluting vehicles, electrification of freight transport, and more urban green infrastructure, warning that air pollution causes an estimated 4,200 premature deaths a year in Portugal.