Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019
Abstract This paper encompasses an assessment of air pollution trends in rural environments in Europe over the 2000–2019 period, benefiting from extensive long-term observational data from the EMEP monitoring network and EMEP MSC-W model computations. The trends in pollutant concentrations align wit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230237 |
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| author | Wenche Aas Hilde Fagerli Andres Alastuey Fabrizia Cavalli Anna Degorska Stefan Feigenspan Hans Brenna Jonas Gliß Daniel Heinesen Christoph Hueglin Adéla Holubová Jean-Luc Jaffrezo Augustin Mortier Marijana Murovec Jean-Philippe Putaud Julian Rüdiger David Simpson Sverre Solberg Svetlana Tsyro Kjetil Tørseth Karl Espen Yttri |
| author_facet | Wenche Aas Hilde Fagerli Andres Alastuey Fabrizia Cavalli Anna Degorska Stefan Feigenspan Hans Brenna Jonas Gliß Daniel Heinesen Christoph Hueglin Adéla Holubová Jean-Luc Jaffrezo Augustin Mortier Marijana Murovec Jean-Philippe Putaud Julian Rüdiger David Simpson Sverre Solberg Svetlana Tsyro Kjetil Tørseth Karl Espen Yttri |
| author_sort | Wenche Aas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This paper encompasses an assessment of air pollution trends in rural environments in Europe over the 2000–2019 period, benefiting from extensive long-term observational data from the EMEP monitoring network and EMEP MSC-W model computations. The trends in pollutant concentrations align with the decreasing emission patterns observed throughout Europe. Annual average concentrations of sulfur dioxide, particulate sulfate, and sulfur wet deposition have shown consistent declines of 3–4% annually since 2000. Similarly, oxidized nitrogen species have markedly decreased across Europe, with an annual reduction of 1.5–2% in nitrogen dioxide concentrations, total nitrate in the air, and oxidized nitrogen deposition. Notably, emission reductions and model predictions appear to slightly surpass the observed declines in sulfur and oxidized nitrogen, indicating a potential overestimation of reported emission reductions. Ammonia emissions have decreased less compared to other pollutants since 2000. Significant reductions in particulate ammonium have however, been achieved due to the impact of reductions in SOx and NOx emissions. For ground level ozone, both the observed and modelled peak levels in summer show declining trends, although the observed decline is smaller than modelled. There have been substantial annual reductions of 1.8% and 2.4% in the concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5, respectively. Elemental carbon has seen a reduction of approximately 4.5% per year since 2000. A similar reduction for organic carbon is only seen in winter when primary anthropogenic sources dominate. The observed improvements in European air quality emphasize the importance of comprehensive legislations to mitigate emissions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b5377c2bf75948a8803fd11143e593f0 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1680-8584 2071-1409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Aerosol and Air Quality Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-b5377c2bf75948a8803fd11143e593f02025-02-09T12:23:34ZengSpringerAerosol and Air Quality Research1680-85842071-14092024-02-0124411910.4209/aaqr.230237Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019Wenche Aas0Hilde Fagerli1Andres Alastuey2Fabrizia Cavalli3Anna Degorska4Stefan Feigenspan5Hans Brenna6Jonas Gliß7Daniel Heinesen8Christoph Hueglin9Adéla Holubová10Jean-Luc Jaffrezo11Augustin Mortier12Marijana Murovec13Jean-Philippe Putaud14Julian Rüdiger15David Simpson16Sverre Solberg17Svetlana Tsyro18Kjetil Tørseth19Karl Espen Yttri20NILU, EMEP/CCCNorwegian Meteorological Institute, EMEP/MSC-WInstitute of Environmental Assessment and Water ResearchEuropean Commission, Joint Research CentreInstitute of Environmental Protection, National Research InstituteThe Umweltbundesamt (UBA)Norwegian Meteorological Institute, EMEP/MSC-WNorwegian Meteorological Institute, EMEP/MSC-WNorwegian Meteorological Institute, EMEP/MSC-WEMPA, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and TechnologyCzech Hydrometeorological InstituteInstitut des Géosciences de l’Environnement, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INPNorwegian Meteorological Institute, EMEP/MSC-WSlovenian Environment AgencyEuropean Commission, Joint Research CentreThe Umweltbundesamt (UBA)Norwegian Meteorological Institute, EMEP/MSC-WNILU, EMEP/CCCNorwegian Meteorological Institute, EMEP/MSC-WNILU, EMEP/CCCNILU, EMEP/CCCAbstract This paper encompasses an assessment of air pollution trends in rural environments in Europe over the 2000–2019 period, benefiting from extensive long-term observational data from the EMEP monitoring network and EMEP MSC-W model computations. The trends in pollutant concentrations align with the decreasing emission patterns observed throughout Europe. Annual average concentrations of sulfur dioxide, particulate sulfate, and sulfur wet deposition have shown consistent declines of 3–4% annually since 2000. Similarly, oxidized nitrogen species have markedly decreased across Europe, with an annual reduction of 1.5–2% in nitrogen dioxide concentrations, total nitrate in the air, and oxidized nitrogen deposition. Notably, emission reductions and model predictions appear to slightly surpass the observed declines in sulfur and oxidized nitrogen, indicating a potential overestimation of reported emission reductions. Ammonia emissions have decreased less compared to other pollutants since 2000. Significant reductions in particulate ammonium have however, been achieved due to the impact of reductions in SOx and NOx emissions. For ground level ozone, both the observed and modelled peak levels in summer show declining trends, although the observed decline is smaller than modelled. There have been substantial annual reductions of 1.8% and 2.4% in the concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5, respectively. Elemental carbon has seen a reduction of approximately 4.5% per year since 2000. A similar reduction for organic carbon is only seen in winter when primary anthropogenic sources dominate. The observed improvements in European air quality emphasize the importance of comprehensive legislations to mitigate emissions.https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230237TransboundaryAir pollutionCompliance monitoringAerosolsDeposition |
| spellingShingle | Wenche Aas Hilde Fagerli Andres Alastuey Fabrizia Cavalli Anna Degorska Stefan Feigenspan Hans Brenna Jonas Gliß Daniel Heinesen Christoph Hueglin Adéla Holubová Jean-Luc Jaffrezo Augustin Mortier Marijana Murovec Jean-Philippe Putaud Julian Rüdiger David Simpson Sverre Solberg Svetlana Tsyro Kjetil Tørseth Karl Espen Yttri Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019 Aerosol and Air Quality Research Transboundary Air pollution Compliance monitoring Aerosols Deposition |
| title | Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019 |
| title_full | Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019 |
| title_fullStr | Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019 |
| title_short | Trends in Air Pollution in Europe, 2000–2019 |
| title_sort | trends in air pollution in europe 2000 2019 |
| topic | Transboundary Air pollution Compliance monitoring Aerosols Deposition |
| url | https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.230237 |
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