Urban air quality in larger conurbations in the European Union

The air quality in about 200 urban agglomerations within the European Union (EU) is calculated for a reference year (1995) and for the year 2010. Relatively simple, robust tools have been applied which allow for a generalisation of the results on the scale of the whole EU. The projected air quality gives information on the frequency and severity of exceedance of air quality objectives and on the fraction of EU urban population potentially exposed. The parameter calculated is the urban background concentration, which is representative for the concentration in most of the urban area, with the exception of places under direct influence of sources, such as streets. Pollutants considered are SO2, NO2, PM10, Pb, O3, CO, and benzene. In 2010 the urban background concentrations will decrease strongly in the set of 200 modelled cities. It is projected, however, that the agreed or proposed air quality standards will still be exceeded in the future. The most serious problems are exceedances of the short- and long-term objectives for PM10 and exceedance of the long-term objective for NO2.