Briefing

Europe’s air quality status 2023

Briefing Published 24 Apr 2023 Last modified 29 May 2024

14 min read

Photo: © Branko Nađ, Well with Nature /EEA

Air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in Europe, causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases that lead to the loss of healthy years of life and, in the worst cases, to preventable deaths. This briefing presents the status of concentrations of pollutants in ambient air in 2021 and 2022 for regulated pollutants, in relation to both EU air quality standards and the 2021 WHO guideline levels. The assessment shows that, in spite of constant improvements, exceedances of air quality standards are common across the EU, with concentrations well above the latest WHO recommendations.

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Disclaimer

The country assessments are the sole responsibility of the EEA member and cooperating countries supported by the EEA through guidance, translation and editing.

For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/europes-air-quality-status-2023/europes-air-quality-status2023 or scan the QR code.

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