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Environmental information systems
Key messages: In 2022, almost a third of Europe’s agricultural lands were exposed to ozone levels above the target value threshold for protecting vegetation as set in the EU’s Ambient Air Quality Directive. The long-term objective was met for only 11.2% of agricultural lands.
Exposure of agricultural areas to ozone in EEA member countries
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Air pollution, particularly ground-level ozone, is a major concern in Europe due to harm to both human health and vegetation (via reduced crop yields and forest growth as well as biodiversity loss). The EU Ambient Air Quality Directive sets two standards to safeguard vegetation from ozone: a target value and a long-term objective (EU, 2008).
In 2020, the fraction of land exposed to ozone levels exceeding the target value threshold was at an absolute minimum of 5.5%. This increased to 18% in 2021 and then to 32.5% in 2022 — with the latter year seeing 719,442km² of agricultural land exposed to above the target value threshold levels.
The higher values in 2022 may be attributable to meteorological conditions that influenced ozone formation. According to the Copernicus Earth observation programme, 2022 was the fifth warmest year globally and the second warmest in Europe on record, with the summer of 2022 also being Europe’s hottest ever recorded to that date.
Please consult the relevant indicators and signals below for a more comprehensive overview on the topic.
Zero Pollution Action Plan 2030 target or policy objectives
- Reduce vegetation exposure to ozone to below the long-term objective of 6,000µg/m3 per hour (EU, 2008).
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