Emissions from road traffic and domestic heating behind breaches of EU air quality standards across Europe
Source: https://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/emissions-from-road-traffic-and
Breaches of EU air quality limits for nitrogen dioxide across Europe were predominantly due to road traffic, while domestic heating lay behind the majority of exceedances for particulate matter, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) assessment on air quality plans published today.
Over the period 2014 to 2020, 944 air quality plans were reported to the EEA, according to the briefing ‘Managing air quality in Europe’ Briefing Managing air quality in Europe . Authorities in Member States are required to set up air quality plans to reduce air pollution in areas where EU air quality standards are exceeded and protect public health and ecosystems. The majority of the air quality plans focus on reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter with a diameter of 10 µm or less (PM10).
From 2014 to 2020, just under two thirds of all reported exceedances of air quality standards were linked to dense traffic in urban centers and proximity to major roads,...