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

PM_2.5: particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5μm; PM₁₀: particulate matter with a diameter of less than 10μm; O₃: tropospheric ozone; NO₂: nitrogen dioxide; BaP: benzo(a)pyrene

Criteria for each pollutant: PM_2.5 - population exposed to concentrations above 25µg/m³; PM₁₀ - population exposed to daily concentrations exceeding 50µg/m³ for more than 35 days per year; O₃ - population exposed to maximum daily 8-hour mean concentrations exceeding 120µg/m³ for more than 25 days per year; NO₂ - population exposed to annual concentrations above 40µg/m³; BaP - population exposed to annual concentrations above 1ng/m³. These criteria are based on the limit values (for PM and NO₂) and target values (for O₃ and BaP) set in the Ambient Air Quality Directives 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC.

Different numbers of countries and stations are included over time in the illustrated data sets.