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Briefing
Note: Only stations with known metadata relating to the ozone type of station are depicted.
Source: EEA
Note: Only stations with known metadata relating to the ozone type of station are depicted
Source: EEA
Country |
Number |
Number of stations |
Percentage of stations |
Maximum number of |
Austria |
105 |
38 |
36.2 |
50 |
Belgium |
39 |
0 |
0.0 |
15 |
Bulgaria |
17 |
1 |
5.9 |
63 |
Croatia |
2 |
2 |
100.0 |
26 |
Cyprus |
1 |
1 |
100.0 |
65 |
Czech Republic |
51 |
3 |
5.9 |
42 |
Denmark |
6 |
0 |
0.0 |
4 |
Estonia |
2 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
Finland |
18 |
0 |
0.0 |
4 |
France |
298 |
23 |
7.7 |
65 |
Germany |
250 |
18 |
7.2 |
41 |
Greece |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
Hungary |
17 |
4 |
23.5 |
64 |
Ireland |
10 |
0 |
0.0 |
1 |
Italy |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
Latvia |
3 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
Lithuania |
13 |
0 |
0.0 |
8 |
Luxembourg |
5 |
1 |
20.0 |
32 |
Malta |
0 |
- |
- |
- |
Netherlands |
33 |
0 |
0.0 |
9 |
Poland |
62 |
1 |
1.6 |
26 |
Portugal |
37 |
1 |
2.7 |
28 |
Romania |
17 |
0 |
0.0 |
6 |
Slovakia |
15 |
3 |
20.0 |
41 |
Slovenia |
11 |
5 |
45.5 |
73 |
Spain |
357 |
68 |
19.0 |
65 |
Sweden |
9 |
0 |
0.0 |
5 |
United Kingdom |
74 |
0 |
0.0 |
7 |
EU area |
1452 |
169 |
11.6 |
|
Norway |
7 |
0 |
0.0 |
1 |
Serbia |
3 |
3 |
100.0 |
39 |
Switzerland |
29 |
7 |
24.1 |
56 |
Whole area |
1491 |
179 |
12.0 |
|
Note: Bold numbers refer to countries with exceedances of the 2012 TV
Source: EEA - Airbase and Air quality e-reporting database
Note: Only stations with known metadata relating to the ozone type of station in Airbase are depicted.
Source: EEA
An 'ozone episode' is defined as 'a period of usually a few days up to two to three weeks with high ozone concentrations, characterised by daily exceedances of the thresholds set to protect human health. Ozone episodes occur under specific meteorological conditions characterised by large stagnant areas of high pressure. Since the formation of ozone requires sunlight, ozone episodes mainly occur during summer.
Summer 2014 was characterised by very few exceedances with only several days with increased concentrations. One of these episodes occurred between 7 and 14 June, during which approximately 36% of the total number of exceedances of the information threshold, 75% of exceedances of the alert threshold, and 20% of LTO exceedances experienced during the summer took place.
Ozone (O3) is a 'secondary' pollutant formed from gases such as nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the presence of solar light. Ozone levels typically become particularly high in regions where considerable emissions of these gases combine with stagnant meteorological conditions, high levels of solar radiation and high temperatures during the summer. Summer refers to the period from April to September.
Exposure to high O3 concentrations can cause breathing problems, trigger asthma, reduce lung function and cause lung diseases.
Ozone is regulated under the Air Quality Directive (EU, 2008), which set some thresholds for ozone concentrations:
For description purposes a target value threshold (TVt) is also considered: LTO should not be exceeded on more than 25 days in a calendar year (instead of over the 3 year average).
Until 2014, Member States had to officially report on the summer ozone exceedances of these thresholds. Based on this past reporting, the European Environment Agency (EEA) has published annual Technical Reports analysing the summer ozone situation across Europe. After the entry into force of new EU rules for reporting air quality information (EU, 2011) a new system for reporting data was established. For the first time the analysis of the summer 2014 period was based on this new system. In total, 1 607 ozone-monitoring sites reported data; of these, 1 562 were located in EU Member States.
EU, 2008, Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe.
EU, 2011, Commission Implementing Decision 2011/850/EU laying down rules for Directive 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the reciprocal exchange of information and reporting on ambient air.
Air quality e-reporting database
Up-to-date Air Quality Data Viewer - Hourly O3
This analysis contains summary information based on voluntary real time data.
The information describing the situation during summer 2014 is based on non-validated 1-hour monitoring data and should therefore be considered preliminary. Summer ozone concentrations for 2013 were also provisional at the time of writing.
All available data, regardless of time coverage, are considered.
1-hour exceedances are counted on a daily basis, i.e. each day on which a station records ozone levels above the information or alert threshold for at least one hour is counted as one exceedance.
The spatial coverage is incomplete: only 25 EU Member States (excluding Greece, Italy and Malta) and five other countries (Andorra, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia and Switzerland) submitted data. The analysis is limited only to this area.
The absence of data from the Mediterranean countries is significant and may have an influence on the overall conclusions. Nevertheless, in summer 2014 in the countries reporting data, including Spain and Portugal, there were less areas where exceedances were measured. In addition, ozone levels were lower than in previous years.
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/summer-2014-ozone-assessment/air-pollution-by-ozone-across or scan the QR code.
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