Air pollution emissions and exposure
Emissions of key air pollutants have fallen considerably across Europe over the past three decades, due to factors like the introduction of the Ambient Air Quality Directive. Between 1990 and 2021, EU emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur oxides fell by 63 and 90 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, emissions of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), considered one of the deadliest forms of air pollution due to their size, were roughly halved.But despite these improvements, pollution levels throughout Europe often exceed air quality standards and guideline levels. This is especially the case in cities. In 2023, more than 95 percent of the EU’s entire urban population were exposed to PM2.5 levels above World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of five micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3). While air pollution concentrations vary widely, residents in some of the most polluted cities in Europe that year were exposed to average annual PM2.5 concentrations roughly eight times higher than recommended limits.
Health impacts of air pollution
Exposure to poor air quality can have many detrimental effects on health, including heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and respiratory problems, as well as premature mortality. Although improvements in air quality have helped lower the number of PM2.5-related deaths in the EU by more than 40 percent since 2005, an estimated 250,000 people still died prematurely due to this dangerous pollutant in 2021. The EU aims to further reduce this number by 55 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, inline with the Zero Pollution Action Plan.In 2024, the EU agreed to set stricter limits on several key air pollutants by 2030, which is something the European public overwhelmingly supports. But while these new limits, which include slashing the values for PM2.5 from 25 µg/m3 to 10 µg/m3, are an improvement on existing standards, they still fall short of WHO recommendations. Nevertheless, these revisions will go some way toward providing Europeans with safer and cleaner air in the future.
