Most of Europe’s air quality monitoring stations met current EU legal limits for key pollutants in the latest European Environment Agency (EEA) assessments, but particulate matter, benzo(a)pyrene and especially ground-level ozone remain widespread problems.
Data collected and analysed for 2024 and 2025 found EU standards were mostly met in most regions for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), the EEA said in a release on Wednesday.
However, air pollution still exceeded current EU standards at up to 20% of monitoring stations, particularly for PM10 (particles 10 microns across or smaller), ground-level ozone (O3) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP).
The EEA’s Air Quality status report 2026 compares measured pollution levels with existing EU limits, the tighter standards due to apply from 2030, and World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline levels.
More than nine out of 10 Europeans were exposed to pollution levels above WHO guideline levels for PM2.5 and ground-level ozone, especially in cities.
Ground-level ozone ‘has not decreased significantly’
Ground-level ozone levels have not fallen significantly despite overall reductions in emissions of pollutants that help form ozone, the EEA said in a separate briefing.
Ozone forms in the lower atmosphere when sunlight triggers chemical reactions between ozone-forming pollutants including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
An estimated 63,000 deaths were attributed to ground-level ozone in the EU, and crop losses linked to it caused billions of euros in damage, according to the EEA figures cited.
For particulate matter, 30% or more of reported monitoring stations in 2024 recorded concentrations above the revised 2030 standards.
From 2026, EU member states will be required to implement air quality roadmaps for pollutants where concentrations exceed levels set in the revised 2030 standards under the EU’s updated Ambient Air Quality Directive.
