Urban population exposure to air pollution in Europe over the last decades

Background: The paper presents an overview of air quality in the 27 member countries of the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (previous EU-28), from 2000 to 2017. We reviewed the progress made towards meeting the air quality standards established by the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives (European Council Directive 2008/50/EC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines by estimating the trends (Mann-Kendal test) in national emissions of main air pollutants, urban population exposure to air pollution, and in mortality related to exposure to ambient fine particles (PM2.5) and tropospheric ozone (O-3). Results: Despite significant reductions of emissions (e.g., sulfur oxides: similar to 80%, nitrogen oxides: similar to 46%, non-methane volatile organic compounds: similar to 44%, particulate matters with a diameter lower than 2.5 mu m and 10 mu m: similar to 30%), the EU-28 urban population was exposed to PM2.5 and O-3 levels widely exceeding the WHO limit values for the protection of human health. Between 2000 and 2017, the annual PM2.5-related number of deaths decreased (- 4.85 per 10(6) inhabitants) in line with a reduction of PM2.5 levels observed at urban air quality monitoring stations. The rising O-3 levels became a major public health issue in the EU-28 cities where the annual O-3-related number of premature deaths increased (+ 0.55 deaths per 10(6) inhabitants). Conclusions: To achieve the objectives of the Ambient Air Quality Directives and mitigate air pollution impacts, actions need to be urgently taken at all governance levels. In this context, greening and re-naturing cities and the implementation of fresh air corridors can help meet air quality standards, but also answer to social needs, as recently highlighted by the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Automated summary

The paper provides an overview of air quality in the EU member countries and the UK from 2000 to 2017, revealing that despite reductions in emissions, levels of PM2.5 and O-3 pollutants exceeded WHO limits, leading to an increase in premature deaths.