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Europe’s air quality is generally getting better, but concentrations of some pollutants are still endangering people’s health. To improve air quality further, we need to use many different kinds of policies and measures. These could include reducing emissions levels at source, better urban planning to reduce people’s exposure and lifestyle changes at the individual level.
Professor Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director
Although emissions have fallen over the last two decades, this has not always led to a corresponding drop in pollutant concentrations in the air. This is particularly true in the case of particulate matter (PM) and ground-level ozone, as there is a complex relationship between emissions and air quality.
Ozone and PM are the most problematic pollutants for health, potentially causing or aggravating cardiovascular and lung diseases and leading to premature death. Eutrophication, an oversupply of nutrient nitrogen in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is another major problem caused by air pollutants. Ammonia (NH3) from agriculture and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from combustion processes are now the main acidifying and eutrophying air pollutants, as sulphur pollution has fallen in recent years. Many air pollutants also contribute to climate change.
“Europe’s air quality is generally getting better, but concentrations of some pollutants are still endangering people’s health,” Jacqueline McGlade, EEA Executive Director, said. “To improve air quality further, we need to use many different kinds of policies and measures. These could include reducing emissions levels at source, better urban planning to reduce people’s exposure and lifestyle changes at the individual level.”
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/ozone-and-particulates-most-serious or scan the QR code.
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