This page covers criteria air pollutants included in the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards and provides guidance on setting and reviewing standards for each of these pollutants:Ground-Level OzoneParticle PollutionNitrogen DioxideSulfur DioxideCarbon MonoxideLead...

Community air quality monitoring consists of local efforts to measure and understand what is in the air a community breathes in. This type of monitoring is often conducted using air sensors or other instruments by community groups or members.The Community Air Monitoring Fundamentals Webinar Series consists of five sessions that cover:Fundamental information on air quality conceptsHow air quality a...

The European Topic Centre on Air Quality (ETC-AQ), under contract to the European Environment Agency (EEA) is required as part of its work programme to develop and maintain a European Air Quality Monitoring Network and a European Air Quality Information System in close collaboration with the European countries. The purpose is to obtain adequate background information for making air quality assessm...

The revised EU air quality directive sets new air quality standards for pollutants to be reached by 2030 which are more closely aligned with the WHO air quality guidelines. Those pollutants include, among others, particulate matter PM10 and PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide, all known to cause respiratory problems. Member states may request that the 2030 deadline be postponed if specific...

To support national and global efforts to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and keep the 1.5°C temperature limit within reach, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition urges countries to include non-CO₂ pollutants in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).The CCAC Guidance provides practical and strategic recommendations for experts and teams involved in preparing NDC 3.0 on how to set go...

Objectives: National ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) are critical tools for controlling air pollution and protecting public health. Authors designed this study to 1) gather the NAAQS for six classical air pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) countries, 2) compare those with the updated World Health Organizations Air Quality Guidelines (WHO A...

The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution is a legally binding environmental agreement signed in 2002 by the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to reduce haze pollution in Southeast Asia....

In the 1960s, scientists investigated the causes of “acid rain,” which was devastating forests, depleting fish populations in lakes, and threatening entire ecosystems across the Northern Hemisphere. They discovered that air pollutants — many emitted thousands of kilometers away — were the primary culprit.To address this issue, 32 countries in the pan-European region decided to cooperate to reduce ...

The Clean Air Act, which was last amended in 1990, requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (40 CFR part 50) for six principal pollutants ("criteria" air pollutants) which can be harmful to public health and the environment. The Clean Air Act identifies two types of national ambient air quality standards. Primary standards provide public health protection, including protecting th...

The EU air quality standards and objectives are summarised in the table below. These apply over different periods of time because the observed health impacts associated with the various pollutants occur over different exposure times. Under EU law, a limit value is legally binding from the date it enters into force subject to any exceedances permitted by the legislation. For a target value, the obl...