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You are here: Home Life in Blogs & photos Coping with winter smog in Belgium

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07/12/2009Coping with winter smog in Belgium

Coping with winter smog in Belgium Belgium-based eco group Sunbeams offers valuable advice on dealing with smog in winter.

Whenever good weather persists in winter time you can expect smog. Especially when the wind drops….

The causes are to be found in emissions from (diesel) cars, heating from buildings and pollution from industries. The Eastern wind blowing pollution from the German industrial Ruhr area towards Belgium is particularly bad. Because of the lack of movement of air and temperature inversion, the polluted air is not diluted and stays caught in a cold layer of air just above the ground.

Every one of us, but especially children and elderly people, are warned to avoid physical exercise (including jogging) during smog alarm. This is mainly because of the particulate matter concentrations (PM10 and PM2.5) hanging in the air. Many do not know these concentrations of particles are equally high inside as outside. This ‘fine dust’ can penetrate deep into the lungs (the PM2.5 is smaller than the PM10 and therefore even more harmful). Immediate symptoms due to inhaling these particles are: shortness of breath, respiration diseases like bronchitis, and more problems for people suffering from asthma or chronic respiratory illnesses.

Smog over the Palais de Jutsice. Photo AFP

What are the Belgian authorities doing?
The Belgian government has imposed smog alarm measures nationally: maximum speeds of 90km/h on motorways are introduced on the peak days of pollution. This is announced in the media and shown on traffic signs.

In addition, Brussels has a new three-phase plan in case of pollution:
Phase I - speed limits as mentioned above and 50km/h on Brussels roads;
Phase II - restrictions on cars in town
(alternated driving ban on even and uneven number plates) and free public transport.
Phase III - a total ban of cars.

What can you do?
1. Avoid using your car:
- You can introduce a Friday bike day, Monday tram day and/or Wednesday walk day (see our Public Transport
section at www.sunbeams.eu). It will give you some free exercise, you might even manage to read your newspaper on the bus/tram and you might (re)discover your neighborhood;
- You can buy yourself a foldable bike to bring on the bus/tram;
- In Brussels you can even exchange your number plate for a free public transport pass (www.brusselair-premie.be) and a Cambio Start (car sharing) membership

2. If you absolutely need to use the car try the following:
- Learn how to eco-drive;
- Consider buying an electric car to load at your home with green energy;
- Check car sharing with colleagues, friends, parents or neighbors or try carpooling (www.cambio.be and www.carpool.be): a good way to exercise your Dutch or French and meet some locals;
- Install a filter to clean the polluting emissions of you diesel car and receive a subsidy(www.roetfilters.lne.be - up to 400 Euros from the Flemish Government).
3. Use less energy
- Have your heating system checked at least once a year;
- Set your average temperature in your house a few degrees lower and add a layer of clothes during the day and reduce the temperature each night and when you leave the house;
- Check the insulation in your house;
- Consider coming to one of the energy challenge sessions organized by Sunbeams to get very useful tips without big investments (check Calendar on our site);
- Consider bigger investments for renewable energy and find out about energy subsidies and certificates .
4. Become informed about daily pollution measurements and smog alarms.

For a general and quick daily glance at the air quality in Brussels only, you can check the ‘pollumeter’ at www.pollutiepiek.be.
One can also ask for an online smog warning by email which you will receive every time pollution is expected to be high in Belgium. You will get an email with details, forecasts and advice once you are on their mailing list: just send an email to smog@irceline.be Whilst the emails are only in Dutch or French, the maps included are quite straight forward.

If we each do our part, we can all breath a little easier this winter.

The Sunbeams Team

For more information: www.sunbeams.eu)

Belgium-based group Sunbeams provides a positive focal point for expatriates who want to live an eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle.

 

(Expatica 2009)


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