European air quality · 28 countries · EEA e-Reporting
Independent EU air-quality data, in plain numbers
PM2.5, NO2, ozone, and SO2 readings from 39 EEA stations across 28 countries, with the WHO 2021 guideline and the EU regulatory limit side by side.
Quick browse
- Countries
- 28
- Stations
- 39
- Pollutants
- 7
- EU+UK pop-weighted PM2.5
- 12.5 μg/m³
The 2024 picture
The population-weighted PM2.5 mean across the 28 countries we track is 12.5 µg/m³ — 2.5× the WHO 2021 health guideline of 5 µg/m³, though still under the current EU limit of 25 µg/m³ (which falls to 10 by 2030).
- 12.5 µg/m³
- PM2.5, population-weighted EU+UK
- 28 of 28
- countries above the WHO PM2.5 guideline
- Sweden
- cleanest air (5.4 µg/m³)
- Bulgaria
- highest PM2.5 (19.8 µg/m³)
The EEA estimates roughly 238,000 premature deaths per year are attributable to PM2.5 exposure across the EU-27 (2022 burden-of-disease assessment) — a modeled estimate using WHO 2021 concentration-response functions, not a counted toll. The EEA does not publish a figure for the UK.
Where Europe's air is most polluted
Annual mean PM2.5 by country — the 12 highest of 28 tracked
- Bulgaria
Bulgaria - 19.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
19.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Poland
Poland - 18.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
18.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Romania
Romania - 17.6 µg/m³ PM2.5
17.6 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Cyprus
Cyprus - 16.9 µg/m³ PM2.5
16.9 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Hungary
Hungary - 16.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
16.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Croatia
Croatia - 16.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
16.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Italy
Italy - 16.3 µg/m³ PM2.5
16.3 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Slovakia
Slovakia - 15.6 µg/m³ PM2.5
15.6 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Czech Republic
Czech Republic - 15.2 µg/m³ PM2.5
15.2 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Greece
Greece - 14.7 µg/m³ PM2.5
14.7 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Slovenia
Slovenia - 13.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
13.4 µg/m³ PM2.5
- Malta
Malta - 12.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
12.8 µg/m³ PM2.5
What this shows Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania record the highest fine-particulate levels, reflecting heavier coal-based residential heating, older diesel fleets, and trans-boundary dust. Every country shown sits above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³.
28 Countries
EU-27 + United Kingdom, ranked by PM2.5, NO2, ozone, and WHO exceedance days.
39 Monitoring Stations
Real EEA-registered urban traffic and urban background stations across major European cities.
7 Pollutants
PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3, SO2, CO, benzene — EU limits vs WHO 2021 guidelines.
Editorial & research
Guides
Plain-language explainers: PM2.5 vs PM10, EU vs WHO limits, how air pollution affects health, and more.
Methodology
How EEA observations, Copernicus reanalysis, and national agency data are combined.
Pollutants
Every regulated EU pollutant: PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3, SO2, CO, benzene, limits, health impact, sources.
Research
Original analyses synthesizing EEA + WHO + Copernicus data.
Start with a guide
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PlainAirQuality?
PlainAirQuality is a free, independent data portal. We synthesize air-quality observations from the European Environment Agency (EEA), Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), and national agencies (UBA Germany, ADEME France, ISPRA Italy, GIOS Poland, Defra UK, etc.) for 28 European countries. Coverage includes PM2.5, PM10, NO2, ozone (O3), SO2, CO, and benzene. Every page cites the underlying source dataset and the regulatory benchmark (WHO 2021 guideline, EU Ambient Air Quality Directive limit value).
Where does the data come from?
Three primary sources. (1) The European Environment Agency Air Quality e-Reporting database (EEA AQ e-Reporting), which aggregates thousands of official monitoring stations across EEA member countries under Directive 2008/50/EC. (2) Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) reanalysis for satellite-derived background concentrations and exposure mapping. (3) National agency portals, UBA (Umweltbundesamt, Germany), ADEME (France), ISPRA (Italy), GIOS (Poland), Defra (UK), and others, for the highest-frequency station feeds. All data is published under European Open Data licenses (CC-BY 4.0 or equivalent).
What pollutants do you track?
The seven pollutants regulated by the 2008 EU Ambient Air Quality Directive plus the WHO 2021 update: Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5), Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ground-level Ozone (O3), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Benzene (C6H6). For each pollutant page we publish the EU limit value, the stricter WHO 2021 guideline, primary emission sources, health impact summary, and the EN-standard reference measurement method.
How does the WHO 2021 guideline differ from the EU limit?
The WHO 2021 Global Air Quality Guidelines tightened recommended exposure limits significantly. The annual PM2.5 guideline dropped from 10 µg/m³ (2005) to 5 µg/m³ (2021). The annual NO2 guideline dropped from 40 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³. The EU regulatory limits are still set at the older, looser values (PM2.5 = 10 µg/m³, NO2 = 40 µg/m³ annual mean). A revised EU directive adopted in 2024 will lower the PM2.5 limit to 10 µg/m³ by 2030 and align more closely with WHO. Until then, many European cities are "EU-legal" but still well above WHO health guidance. We show both benchmarks on every detail page.
How to use this data
Read PM2.5 against the WHO guideline, not only the EU limit — most of Europe is EU-legal but above health guidance.
- See how your country compares on PM2.5, NO2, ozone, and WHO exceedance days. Country rankings
- Check the nearest monitoring station for the pollutants it measures and its data-capture rate. Browse stations
- Understand what each pollutant does and where the EU and WHO limits sit. Pollutant guide
Annual means smooth over daily and seasonal peaks; a clean annual average can still include unhealthy episodes. Attributable-mortality figures are modeled estimates, not counted deaths.