Alarming report Millions of Europeans continue to breathe bad air
At around one in five measuring stations in Europe, the measured air pollution is still above the applicable EU air quality guidelines. This is the conclusion reached by the European Environment Agency EEA in a new report.
30.04.2026, 02:09
30.04.2026, 07:47
SDA
In it, the environmental experts praise the fact that air pollution in Europe has fallen steadily over the past two decades. However, pollution levels, for example from certain particulate matter and harmful gases such as ground-level ozone, are still too high.
For some pollutants, such as the metal cadmium, all European countries already comply with the limit values set out in the EU air quality directives, the experts explained. Improvements can also be observed for other air pollutants such as carbon monoxide and lead. Nevertheless, numerous measuring stations across Europe show concentrations of other pollutants that are above the applicable EU limit values, even though some regions already meet the EU standards for 2030.
Further measures required for the health of Europeans
For most pollutants, the concentrations would continue to be well above the guideline values for air quality set by the World Health Organization (WHO), the report continued. More than nine out of ten Europeans are exposed to air pollution concentrations that exceed these values.
For the report, the EU authority based in Copenhagen, Denmark, assessed the concentration of pollutants in ambient air across Europe in 2024 and 2025 based on the applicable EU air quality directives, among other things. The 39 countries analyzed include the 27 EU member states and Germany.
The authors of the report call for further measures to achieve the targets for combating air pollution. This applies in particular to particulate matter. The experts warn of the consequences of air pollution for health. The higher the concentrations of pollutants in the air, the greater the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, for example.
