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Energy, Climate change, Environment
Environment

Air Quality

The EU sets air quality standards to protect human health and the environment

Overview

Since the 1980s, the EU has been implementing policies on air quality that have contributed to a substantial decrease in most air pollutants over the past decades.

However, the air quality challenge is far from being solved. Although the number of people exposed to harmful air pollution has significantly decreased, persistent exceedances above World Health Organization guideline exposure levels remain for several air pollutants.

The revised Ambient Air Quality Directive addresses these challenges by building on the previous policies and aligning EU air quality standards more closely with scientific recommendations.

Where levels are elevated above EU air quality standards, Member States must prepare air quality plans to keep exceedance periods as short as possible.

See why the revised EU Ambient Air Quality Directive is so important

Objectives

The revised Ambient Air Quality Directive, which entered into force on 10 December 2024, aims to:-

  • Define common methods to monitor, assess and inform on ambient air quality in the EU;
  • Establish objectives for ambient air quality to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment;
  • Guide the assessment of air quality supported by a representative high-quality monitoring network, with more than 4,000 air quality monitoring stations across the EU and an enhanced use of air quality modelling; 
  • Exchange reliable, objective and comparable information on air quality, including to the wider public.

Law

The revised Ambient Air Quality Directive merges the previous two Directives into one and streamlines provisions to clarify and simplify the rules, aligning 2030 EU air quality standards more closely with the recommendations of the World Health Organization. This is an important step to better protect our health and move forward on the path to zero pollution in our environment by 2050. 

It comes with a series of new measures and stricter standards to make sure Europeans enjoy healthier air by:-

  • Cutting by more than half the allowed annual limit value for the main air pollutant – fine particulate matter (PM2.5);
  • Updating air quality standards for allowed levels in ambient air for a total of twelve air pollutants, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide/nitrogen oxides, particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), ozone, benzene, lead, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, nickel, and benzo(a)pyrene;
  • Regularly reviewing air quality standards, in line with the latest scientific evidence as well as societal and technological developments;
  • Ensuring that people suffering from health damages due to air pollution have the right to be compensated in the case of a violation of EU air quality rules.

Implementation

Air quality zones

Member States must report on air quality zones designated under the Ambient Air Quality Directives.

Time extensions

Under Directive 2008/50/EC, under certain conditions and for certain pollutants, the deadline to achieve compliance with limit values was extended.

Assessment

Assessing ambient air quality should be based on common methods and criteria for air quality monitoring and modelling.

Tools

Data and reporting

Up-to-date information on ambient concentrations of the different pollutants should regularly be made publicly available.

EEA Air Quality Portal
The European Air Quality Portal is dedicated to the Air Quality e-Reporting system established by the European Commission and hosted by the European Environment Agency.

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