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Indicator Assessment
Annual mean NO2 concentrations observed at traffic stations, 2017
Note: The figure shows the annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) observed at traffic stations in 2017.
Annual mean NO2 concentrations observed at background stations, 2017
Note: The figure shows the annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) observed at background stations in 2017.
Percentile 90.4 of daily mean PM10 concentrations observed at traffic stations, 2017
Note: The map shows the Percentile 90.4 of daily mean PM10 concentrations at traffic stations. This represents the 36th highest value in a complete series. It is related to the PM10 daily limit value, which allows 35 exceedances of the 50 µg/m3 threshold over a 1-year period. Dots in the last two colour categories indicate stations with concentrations above this daily limit value. Only stations for which more than 75 % of data are valid have been included in the map.
Percentile 90.4 of daily mean PM10 concentrations observed at background stations, 2017
Note: The map shows the Percentile 90.4 of daily mean PM10 concentrations at background stations. This represents the 36th highest value in a complete series. It is related to the PM10 daily limit value, which allows 35 exceedances of the 50 μg/m3 threshold over a 1-year period. Dots in the last two colour categories indicate stations with exceedances of this daily limit value. Only stations for which more than 75 % of data are valid have been included in the map.
Annual mean PM2.5 concentrations observed at traffic stations, 2017
Note: The figure shows the annual mean concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) observed at traffic stations in 2017.
Annual mean PM2.5 concentrations observed at background stations, 2017
Note: The figure shows the annual mean concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5) observed at background stations in 2017.
Figs 1 to 6 show the air quality situation in 2017 at monitoring stations across Europe for three main pollutants related to road transport, i.e. nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter with a diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10) and particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5). For each pollutant, measurements taken at two different types of location are shown. The first map shows traffic air quality monitoring stations, which are located in close proximity to major roads and affected predominantly by traffic sources. The second map shows background stations, which are located away from dominant single sources, so that the pollution levels recorded are representative of the average exposure of the general population.
For NO2, 10 % of reporting stations recorded concentrations above the annual limit value in 2017. The highest concentrations, as well as 86 % of all concentrations recorded above the annual limit value, were observed at traffic stations, with the exception of a few urban background stations in Turkey (EEA, 2019a). Of the 1 004 traffic stations considered, 284 (28 %) reported concentrations above the annual limit value (Fig. 1). The situation for background concentrations is quite different (Fig. 2): of the 1 808 stations shown, only 44 (2.4 %) recorded concentrations above the annual limit value. These are mainly located in big cities such as Istanbul, Ankara, Milan, London, Madrid, Rome and Barcelona, but also in smaller cities such as Ordu, Konya and Cremona.
These results are consistent with observations that indicate that road transport is the main emitting source of nitrogen oxides (NOx) (EEA, 2019b), of which NO2 is one, in the 33 European Environment Agency (EEA) member countries, that is, the 28 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey (EEA-33), and that reductions in emissions from road transport were lower than originally anticipated over the last two decades. This is because, among other things, growth in the use of diesel vehicles has been higher than expected and 'real-world' emissions of NOx — particularly from diesel passenger cars and vans — generally exceed the permitted European emission (Euro) standards (EEA, 2018b).
For PM10, the situation is different. Of all reporting stations, 22 % show values above the daily limit value of 50 µg/m3 (EEA, 2019b). Fig. 3 illustrates that, of a total of 750 traffic stations, 142 (19 %) show concentrations above the daily limit value. Fig. 4 shows that 447 (26 %) out of a total of 1 751 background stations exceeded the daily limit value. Nevertheless, in certain countries these exceedances are recorded at only traffic stations, i.e. in Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Malta, Portugal and Sweden. On the contrary, the exceedances in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia were measured at only background stations.
As highlighted in the EEA's Air quality in Europe — 2019 report (2019a), other major sectors are also responsible for primary PM10 emissions. These include the 'commercial, institutional and households', 'industrial processes and product use' and 'agriculture' sectors (EEA, 2019b), which also contribute to exceedances recorded at background stations.
Finally, for PM2.5, exceedances of the annual limit value of 25 µg/m3 also seem to be caused by sources other than traffic. In 2017, PM2.5 concentrations were higher than the annual limit value at 7 % of all reporting stations (EEA, 2019a). Fig. 5 shows that, of 340 traffic stations, only 23 (around 7 %) reported concentrations above the annual limit value. Similarly, Fig. 6 shows that, of 901 background stations, 69 (8 %) reported values above the annual limit value. Again, in the EEA-33, the 'commercial, institutional and households' sector was the main emitter of primary PM2.5 in 2017, followed by 'industrial processes and product use' and 'road transport'.
This indicator compares concentrations of pollutants at background stations with those at traffic stations. This comparison provides an estimate of the increased levels of air pollution to which the population is exposed in areas with relatively high levels of road traffic. It also provides a measure of the impact of the technical and non-technical measures adopted to reduce the road transport sector's contribution to observed pollutant concentrations.
The indicator makes use of official data submitted to the EEA’s Air Quality e-Reporting database.
This indicator reports pollutant concentrations at traffic and background stations in micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3).
This indicator provides information relevant to current European air quality legislation related to the setting of national emissions targets, the reduction of transport-related emissions (discussed in detail in TERM003 (EEA, 2018b)) and the protection of human health from harmful air pollutant levels (EU, 2008). It is related to the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Air Quality Guidelines (WHO, 2000, 2006) for protecting public health.
EU ambient air quality limit values set by Directive 2008/50/EC for the protection of human health
WHO Air Quality Guidelines
Data submitted to the EEA's Air Quality e-Reporting database have been used. The selected stations include station types classified as 'traffic' for the traffic map and 'background' for the background map. Only stations for which at least 75 % of data per calendar year are valid are used. This means that, in the case of daily values, only those stations with more than 274 valid daily values per calendar year (or 275 days in a leap year) are used and, in the case of hourly values, only those stations with more than 6 570 valid hourly values per calendar year (or 6 588 hours in a leap year) are used.
Average yearly data were obtained for PM2.5 and NO2. For PM10, the annual series of daily values is ordered and percentile 90.41 (P90.41) selected. P90.41 represents, in a complete series, the 36th highest value; if it is above 50 µg/m3, it suggests an exceedance of the PM10 daily limit value. Using P90.41 diminishes the effect of the missing values.
No gap filling is applied to the air quality data in the EEA air quality databases.
No methodology references available.
No uncertainty has been specified.
Air quality data are officially submitted by national authorities. It is assumed that data have been validated by the national data suppliers. The number of reported stations varies across countries.
Station characteristics and representativeness are often insufficiently documented. Locally (i.e. at the station level), the indicator is subject to year-on-year variations due to meteorological variability.
No uncertainty has been specified.
For references, please go to https://eea.europa.eu./data-and-maps/indicators/exceedances-of-air-quality-objectives-7/assessment-2 or scan the QR code.
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