Air pollution also damages our environment.
Acidification was substantially reduced between 1990 and 2010 in Europe’s sensitive ecosystem areas that were subjected to acid deposition of excess sulphur and nitrogen compounds.
Eutrophication, an environmental problem caused by the input of excessive nutrients into ecosystems, saw less progress. The area of sensitive ecosystems affected by excessive atmospheric nitrogen diminished only slightly between 1990 and 2010.
Crop damage is caused by exposure to high ozone concentrations. Most agricultural crops are exposed to ozone levels that exceed the EU long-term objective intended to protect vegetation. This notably includes a significant proportion of agricultural areas, particularly in southern, central and eastern Europe.
Europe’s air quality has not always improved in line with the general decrease of anthropogenic (human-caused) emissions of air pollutants. Reasons for this are complex:
there is not always a clear linear relationship between decreasing emissions and the concentrations of air pollutants observed in the air;
there is a growing contribution of long-distance transport of air pollutants to Europe from other countries in the northern hemisphere.
Targeted efforts to reduce emissions are therefore still required to further protect human health and the environment in Europe.