Exceedance of air quality standards in Europe

EU legislation has led to significant improvements in air quality. The percentage of urban citizens exposed to pollutant levels above EU legal standards set to protect human health fell between 2000 and 2022. Less than 1% of citizens were exposed to levels above EU standards in 2022 for fine pariculate matter and nitrogen dioxide. Poor air quality remains a problem: 19% and 9% of EU citizens were exposed, respectively, to ozone and particulate matter PM 10 levels above EU standards. More than 83% of urban citizens are exposed above safe levels for all pollutants, except SO₂, according to 2021 World Health Organization air quality guideline values.

More than 70% of EU citizens live in urban areas, where high population densities and economic activities cause high levels of air pollution. Particulate matter (PM), ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and benzo[α]pyrene (BaP) are associated with serious health problems. Exposure is linked to adverse health effects, such as respiratory and heart problems, and cancer.

The EU Ambient Air Quality Directives aim to protect human health, vegetation and natural ecosystems by setting limit and target values for, among others, these air pollutants (and also long-term objectives for O₃). The World Health Organization (WHO) has also set air quality guideline levels to protect human health. The latest WHO guideline levels from 2021 are stricter than the current EU air quality standards and consider the latest scientific evidence.

The European Green Deal’s Zero Pollution Action Plan has a 2050 vision of achieving pollution levels which are no longer harmful to health and natural ecosystems. It also set the 2030 health-related interim goal of reducing the number of premature deaths caused by fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) by at least 55% compared with 2005 levels.

The European Green Deal proposed to revise the EU air quality standards to align them more closely with the 2021 WHO guidelines. The Commission published a proposal for a revised Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe on 26 October 2022. In February 2024 co-legislators agreed to set out enhanced EU air quality standards for 2030 closer to the WHO guideline levels and be regularly reviewed.

Analysis of Individual Pollutants

For most pollutants, especially fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and NO₂, percentages of urban population exposed to levels above EU standards has decreased since 2000. In 2022, less than 1% of the urban population was exposed to concentrations above the EU annual limit values for PM_2.5 and NO₂.

The percentage exposed to concentrations of SO₂ above the daily limit value decreased between 2000 and 2022: from a maximum of 2% in 2006 to below 0.1% in all years during 2010-2022. Hence, these values are not shown in Figure 1.

Concentrations above other EU standards are still measured in many areas. In 2022, 9% of urban citizens were still exposed to PM with a diameter of 10µm or less (PM₁₀) above the EU daily limit value. This value is the minimum in the series and much lower than the 51% peak in 2000.

O₃ is a secondary pollutant formed from other pollutants reactions. Its levels are determined by precursors emissions, mainly NO_x and volatile organic compounds (including methane, another potent greenhouse gas), and meteorology. The proportion of the urban population exposed to O₃ above the EU target value threshold for human protection has fluctuated from a 64% peak in 2003 to 9% in 2014. Since this low value, the urban population exposure has been fluctuating, reaching 19% in 2022. The higher values in 2022 could be related to the meteorological influence on O₃ formation, since, according to Copernicus, it was the fifth warmest year on record globally and the second warmest year in Europe on record. The warmest summer in Europe on record was also in 2022.

As there are relatively few reported measurements of BaP and these were not considered to be homogeneous across Europe until 2008, the values are not shown in Figure 1. Considering data reported after that year, the portion of the urban population exposed to concentrations of BaP above 1.0ng/m³ has halved from 31% stabilising in 2017-2022, reaching a minimum of 13% in 2022.

The 2021 WHO air quality guideline levels are much lower than previous values (except for SO₂) and little progress can be seen when calculating the exposure retrospectively (except for PM₁₀). The proportion of the EU urban population exposed to concentrations above the 2021 WHO annual guideline level for PM₁₀ (15mg/m³) decreased from 97% in 2000 to a minimum of 71% in 2020 and rebounded to 83% in 2022. For NO₂, exposure above the 2021 WHO annual guideline level of 10mg/m³ was 100% in the first years of the 2000’s reducing to 88% in 2022. For O₃, the proportion of the urban population exposed to concentrations above the 2021 WHO short-term guideline of 100mg/m³level fluctuated between 93% and 98% in the period 2013-2022, with a value of 94% over the last three years. For PM_2.5, the share of the urban population exposed to annual averages above 5µg/m³ (WHO annual guideline level) ranged from 96% to 100% (96% for 2022).

For the reasons mentioned above in relation to Figure 1, BaP values are also not shown in Figure 2. When considering the estimated ‘reference level’ for BaP (0.12ng/m³), the percentage of the urban population exposed has decreased from around 90%, in 2009, to 65% in 2022.

The results for SO₂ show that the percentage of the urban population exposed to concentrations above the daily WHO guideline level, 40mg/m³, have been below 1% since 2019. Therefore, these values are not shown in Figure 2.

Supporting information

Definition

This indicator shows the fraction of the EU-27 urban population that is potentially exposed to ambient air concentrations of six key pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, O₃, NO₂, SO₂ and BaP) that are in excess of the EU limit or target values set for the protection of human health, and to concentrations of these pollutants in excess of the 2021 WHO Air quality Guideline levels.

The EU standards assessed in this report are the more restrictive ones for each pollutant, i.e. the annual limit value for PM_2.5 and NO₂, the daily value for PM₁₀, the target value threshold for O₃ for the protection of human health, the annual target value for BaP and the daily limit value for SO₂.

The indicator is based on measurements of air pollutants as reported under the Air Quality Directives and the Decision on the exchange of information.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

Information on cities is obtained from the Urban Audit (UA) data. UA data collection, maintained by Eurostat, provides information and comparable measurements on the different aspects of the quality of urban life in selected European cities. The urban population considered is the total number of people represented by any of the urban monitoring stations in the 'core city' and the 'greater city' of the UA cities taking part in the calculations.

Initially, stations in the EEA air-quality database are spatially joined with UA core and, from 2016, greater cities in a geographical information system in order to select those stations that fall within the boundaries of the cities included in the UA collection. The selected stations include station types classified as 'urban traffic', 'suburban traffic', 'urban background' and 'suburban background'. Stations classified as 'industrial' are influenced by other local emissions and such environments are generally not representative for residential areas. The industrial stations are therefore not selected for the indicator calculations.

From 2022 onwards, the 2020 version of the UA is used.

According to a study for the European Commission by Entec UK Limited, in Europe, on average, 5% of the city population lives closer than 100 metres from major roads and is therefore potentially exposed to concentrations measured at traffic stations. The remaining 95% of the city population is assumed to be exposed to urban and suburban background concentrations.

These percentages vary from country to country. To calculate them, national data on the population living closer than 100 metres from major roads have been taken from Appendix D of the above-mentioned study. These data have been divided by the total population figures for 2001 according to the Eurostat census.

For Croatia and Malta there are no data on the 2001 population in that census, so the data in the publication Europe in Figures – Eurostat yearbook 2006-07 have been used. Furthermore, for Cyprus and Malta there are no data for people living close to roads in the study, so for them, and also for Türkiye, the average value of 5% was used.

For PM₁₀, PM_2.5, O₃, NO₂ and SO₂, only stations with at least 75% of valid data per calendar year are used. That is, in the case of daily values, those having more than 274 valid daily values per calendar year (or 275 days in a leap year). And in the case of hourly values, having more than 6,570 valid hourly values per calendar year (or 6,588 hours in a leap year). For PM random fixed measurements and for BaP, the minimum data time coverage accepted is 13% (51 days), according to the data quality objectives related to indicative measurements in the Air Quality Directives.

For every year, each city (i) in country (j), and every pollutant, the total number of urban or suburban traffic stations (n_it) and the total number of urban or suburban background stations (n_ib) are obtained. P_tj % of the total population of the city (Pop_i) is proportionally assigned to each of the traffic stations and P_bj % of Pop_i is proportionally assigned to each of the background stations. So, every traffic station has an allocated population equal to ((P_tj / 100) * Pop_i / n_it) and every background station has an allocated population equal to ((P_bj /100) *Pop_i / n_ib).

For city and/or greater city geometries with no information on population in the Urban Audit data collection, population data have been retrieved from http://www.citypopulation.de/.

Methodology for gap filling

No related methodology for gap filling has been specified.

Policy/environmental relevance

Context description

This indicator is relevant for current (at time of publication) European air quality legislation related to the protection of human health in the Air Quality Directives 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC. Besides EU policies on air quality, it is also related to the 2021 WHO Air Quality Guidelines for protecting public health.

The European Green Deal, adopted by the European Commission on 11 December 2019, will improve the well-being and health of citizens and future generations by providing, among others, fresh air, more public transport, cleaner energy or longer lasting products. The European Green Deal proposes to revise the EU air quality standards to align them more closely with the World Health Organization recommendations. This is nearly complete after the 2022 Commission’s proposal for a revised Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe and the February 2024 co-legislators’ agreement to set out enhanced EU air quality standards for 2030.

As part of the European Green Deal, the Zero Pollution Action Plan has the 2050 vision of reducing air pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems and the 2030 target of reducing premature deaths due to air pollution by more than 55%, in comparison with those in 2005.

The 8th Environment Action Programme (8EAP) entered into force in 2022, as the EU’s legally agreed common agenda for environment policy until 2030. The 8thEAP supports the environment objectives of the European Green Deal and reiterates the commitment to the 2050 vision of living well, within planetary boundaries.

Targets

No related targets have been specified.

Accuracy and uncertaintiesData sources and providers

Metadata

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TypologyUN SDGsUnit of measureFrequency of dissemination

Exceedance of air quality standards in Europe

Figure 1. Urban population exposed to air pollutant concentrations above selected EU air quality standards, EU-27

Figure 2. Urban population exposed to air pollutant concentrations above 2021 WHO air quality guidelines, EU-27

Supporting information

Methodology for gap filling

Context description

Targets

Data sets uncertainty

Rationale uncertainty

Metadata

References and footnotes