Suche
Mein Konto
New Year's Eve in Munich: Highest fine dust levels measured in Germany!
Munich recorded extreme levels of fine dust on New Year's Eve 2025, which are harmful to health. Experts warn against a ban on firecrackers.
New Year's Eve in Munich: Highest fine dust levels measured in Germany!
On New Year's Eve, the fireworks not only burst with light and noise, but also caused alarming levels of air pollution in Germany's cities. On New Year's morning on January 1, 2026, Landshuter Allee in Munich reported dizzying fine dust levels of 1,458 µg/m³ - the highest level in all of Germany. For comparison, at midday on New Year's Eve the value was only 22 µg/m³, which illustrates the dramatic increase in pollution at the turn of the year. Frankfurter Allee in Berlin was also used, where 462 µg/m³ were measured one hour after midnight. Such high values are not exactly good for health, because the limit value for PM10 is 50 µg/m³, as BR24 reports.
Fine dust levels were worryingly high throughout the Bavarian region. In addition to Munich, high values were also recorded in Augsburg with 524 µg/m³ and in cities such as Ingolstadt, Nuremberg and Neu-Ulm. A positive exception was the Upper Palatinate, where the air in places like Sulzbach-Rosenberg was considered remarkably clean with 5 µg/m³ and in Tiefenbach with 8 µg/m³. The German Environmental Aid (DUH) has long been calling for a nationwide ban on firecrackers in order to protect the population from the dangers of attacks on the respiratory tract - after all, these high concentrations of fine dust have a particularly negative impact on sensitive groups such as children or older people.
Like stone on water
New Year's morning is traditionally a day with particularly high air pollution in Germany. Even if the south is affected more often, the problem is more latent than can be seen at first glance. Example Tübingen: Here the PM10 concentration at 8 a.m. was 80 µg/m³, while the nationwide average was around 15 µg/m³. These are values that are well above the permissible average. However, the peaks like in Munich, where almost 800 µg/m³ were reached around midnight, did not occur in 2026 thanks to windy weather conditions. The wind chime helped to distribute the pollutants more quickly.
Lasting effects of fireworks
Fireworks are not only responsible for the short-term increase in particulate matter, but also have long-term ecological consequences. Every year, around 2,050 tonnes of PM10 are released by firecrackers, which accounts for around 1% of the total annual emissions in Germany, according to the Federal Environment Agency. Not only does this mass contribute to air pollution, but it also causes injuries, frightens pets and increases the amount of trash left in the streets. What is often overlooked: Road traffic and wood stoves are responsible for around 10-20% of annual PM10 emissions and therefore dominate everyday air pollution far more than pyrotechnics.
Last but not least, it should be noted that the results of exceeding the limit values in Bavaria will be published on January 2nd. In the hope of a more sustainable future, citizens could also gain momentum in the coming years to reduce the use of fireworks in order to minimize environmental damage and health risks.