Directive (EU) 2024/2881 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 Octo... (32024L2881)

EU - Rechtsakte: 15 Environment, consumers and health protection

Directive (EU) 2024/2881 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 Octo... (32024L2881)

2024/2881

20.11.2024

DIRECTIVE (EU) 2024/2881 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 23 October 2024

on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe

(recast)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 192(1) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions (2),

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure (3),

Whereas:

(1) Directives 2004/107/EC (4) and 2008/50/EC (5) of the European Parliament and of the Council have been substantially amended. Since further amendments are to be made, those Directives should be recast in the interest of clarity.

(2) The Commission set out in its communication of 11 December 2019 entitled ‘The European Green Deal’ an ambitious roadmap to transform the Union into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, that aims to protect, conserve and enhance the Union’s natural capital, and to protect the health and well-being of citizens from environment-related risks and impacts. Specifically on clean air, the Commission committed itself to further improving air quality and to aligning Union air quality standards more closely with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). The Commission also announced in the European Green Deal a strengthening of provisions on air quality monitoring, modelling and planning.

(3) In its communication of 12 May 2021 entitled ‘Pathway to a Healthy Planet for All – EU Action Plan: Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil’, the Commission established a ‘Zero Pollution Action Plan’ that, inter alia, addresses pollution aspects of the European Green Deal and further commits to reducing, by 2030, the health impact of air pollution by more than 55 % and the Union ecosystems where air pollution threatens biodiversity by 25 %.

(4) The Zero Pollution Action Plan also sets out a vision for 2050, where air pollution is reduced to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems. To that end, a staged approach towards setting current and future Union air quality standards should be pursued, establishing air quality standards for 2030 and beyond, and developing a perspective for alignment with the most up-to-date WHO Air Quality Guidelines at the latest by 2050 based on a regular review mechanism to take into account the latest scientific evidence. Given the links between pollution reduction and decarbonisation, the long-term objective to achieve the zero pollution ambition should be pursued together with a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as established by Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6).

(5) In September 2021, the WHO updated its Air Quality Guidelines, based on a systematic review of the scientific evidence on health effects of air pollution. The updated WHO Air Quality Guidelines highlight new evidence about effects occurring at low levels of exposure to air pollution, and formulate lower air quality guideline levels for particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

) and for nitrogen dioxide compared to previous guidelines. This Directive takes into account the latest scientific evidence, including the most up-to-date WHO Air Quality Guidelines.

(6) Over the past three decades, Union and national legislation have delivered steady reductions in harmful air pollutant emissions and corresponding improvements in air quality. Policy options analysed under the impact assessment accompanying this Directive indicate additional net socioeconomic benefits from further reducing air pollution, with the projected monetised health and environmental benefits significantly outweighing the expected implementation costs.

(7) When taking the relevant measures at Union and national level to achieve the zero-pollution objective for air pollution, Member States, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission should be guided by the precautionary principle, and by the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay, established in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and by the ‘do no harm’ principle of the European Green Deal, also acknowledging the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as recognised in Resolution 76/300 adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on 28 July 2022. They should, inter alia, take into account the following elements: the contribution of improved air quality to human health, the quality of the environment and ecosystem resilience, the well-being of citizens, equality and the protection of sensitive population and vulnerable groups, healthcare costs, the prosperity of society, employment and the competitiveness of the economy; the energy transition, strengthened energy security and the tackling of energy poverty; food security and affordability; the development of sustainable and smart mobility and transport solutions and related infrastructure; the impact of behavioural changes; the impact of fiscal policies; fairness and solidarity across and within Member States, in light of their economic capability, national circumstances, such as the specificities of islands, and the need for convergence over time; the need to make the transition just and socially fair through appropriate education and training programmes, including for healthcare professionals; the best available and most up-to-date scientific evidence, in particular findings reported by the WHO; the need to integrate air pollution related risks into investment and planning decisions; cost-effectiveness, the best available technological solutions and technological neutrality in achieving air pollutant emission reductions, and progression over time in environmental integrity and level of ambition.

(8) This Directive contributes to the attainment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDGs 3, 7, 10, 11 and 13.

(9) The General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030 set out in Decision (EU) 2022/591 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7) (the ‘8th Environment Action Programme’) establishes, inter alia, the objective to achieve a toxic-free environment, and to protecting the health and well-being of people, animals and ecosystems from environment-related risks and negative impacts, and, for that purpose, stipulates, inter alia, that further improvement of monitoring methods, better international cooperation, better information to the public and access to justice are needed. This guides the objectives set out in this Directive.

(10) The Commission should regularly review the scientific evidence related to pollutants, their effects on human health and the environment, and, inter alia, the direct and indirect healthcare costs associated with air pollution, socioeconomic impacts, environmental costs, and behavioural, fiscal and technological developments. Based on its review, the Commission should assess whether applicable air quality standards are still appropriate to achieve the objectives of this Directive. The Commission should carry out the first review by 31 December 2030. When carrying out a review, the Commission should assess options and timelines for the alignment of air quality standards with the most recent WHO Air Quality Guidelines, whether air quality standards need to be updated in light of the latest scientific information, whether additional air pollutants should be covered and whether provisions on postponement of the attainment deadlines and transboundary air pollution should be amended. Following its review, the Commission should, where it deems it necessary, present a proposal to revise air quality standards or to cover other air pollutants. Where the Commission deems it necessary, it should also present proposals to introduce or revise any relevant source legislation in order to contribute to achieving the proposed revised air quality standards at Union level and propose further actions to be taken at Union level.

(11) A common approach to the assessment of ambient air quality should be followed by applying common assessment criteria. When assessing ambient air quality, account should be taken of the size of populations and ecosystems exposed to air pollution. It is therefore appropriate to classify the territory of each Member State into zones reflecting the population density and average exposure territorial units.

(12) Fixed measurements should be mandatory in zones where assessment thresholds are exceeded. Modelling applications and indicative measurements, in addition to information from fixed measurements, enable point data to be interpreted in terms of geographical distribution of concentrations. The use of such supplementary techniques of assessment should also allow for reduction of the required minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurements in zones where limit values or target values are met but the assessment threshold is exceeded. In zones where limit values or target values are exceeded, from 2 years following the adoption of implementing acts on modelling applications and on determining the spatial representativeness of sampling points, modelling applications or indicative measurements should be used in addition to mandatory fixed measurements to assess the ambient air quality. Additional monitoring of background concentrations and deposition of pollutants in ambient air should also be carried out to enable better understanding of pollution levels and dispersion.

(13) Where applicable, modelling applications should be applied to enable point data to be interpreted in terms of geographical distribution of concentration of pollutants, which can help to detect breaches of air quality standards, and to inform air quality plans and air quality roadmaps and the placement of sampling points. In addition to the requirements for air quality monitoring laid down in this Directive, for monitoring purposes, Member States are encouraged to exploit information products and supplementary tools, such as by regular evaluation and quality assessment reports or policy online applications, provided by the Earth Observation component of the Union Space Programme, in particular the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

(14) It is important that pollutants of emerging concern, such as ultrafine particles, black carbon and elemental carbon, as well as ammonia and the oxidative potential of particulate matter, be measured at monitoring supersites at both rural background locations and urban background locations in order to support scientific understanding of their effects on human health and the environment, as recommended by the WHO. For Member States whose territory is less than 10 000 km

measuring at monitoring supersites at urban background locations would be sufficient.

(15) Detailed measurements of fine particulate matter (PM

2,5

) should be made in order to understand better the impacts of that pollutant and to develop appropriate policies. Such measurements should be made in a manner consistent with those of the cooperative programme for monitoring and evaluation of the long range transmission of air pollutants in Europe (EMEP) set up under the 1979 United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution approved by Council Decision 81/462/EEC (8) and its Protocols, including the Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone of 1999, which was revised in 2012.

(16) In order to ensure that the information collected on air pollution is sufficiently representative and comparable across the Union, it is important that standardised measurement techniques and common criteria for the number and location of sampling points are used for the assessment of ambient air quality. Techniques other than measurements can be used to assess ambient air quality and it is therefore necessary to define criteria for the use and required accuracy of such techniques.

(17) Providing reference measurement methods is acknowledged to be an important issue. The Commission has already mandated work on the preparation of EN standards for the measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and for the evaluation of the performance of sensor systems for the determination of concentrations of gaseous pollutants and particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

) in ambient air with a view to their early development and adoption. In the absence of EN standard methods, the use of international standard reference measurement methods, national standard reference measurement methods or European Committee for Standardization (CEN) technical specifications should be permitted.

(18) In order to protect human health and the environment as a whole, it is particularly important to combat emissions of pollutants at source and to identify and implement the most effective emission reduction measures at local, national and Union level, in particular as regards emissions from agriculture, industries, transport, heating and cooling systems and energy generation. Therefore, emissions of harmful air pollutants should be avoided, prevented or reduced and appropriate air quality standards should be set on the basis of, inter alia, the most up-to-date scientific evidence, including WHO recommendations.

(19) Scientific evidence shows that sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), benzene, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and ozone are responsible for a number of significant negative effects on human health, and are linked to several non-communicable diseases, adverse health conditions and increased mortality. Impact on human health and the environment occurs via concentrations in ambient air and via deposition.

(20) Even though air pollution is a universal health problem, the risks are not evenly distributed amongst the population, with sensitive population and vulnerable groups at greater risk of harm than others. This Directive recognises the increased risks for, and specific needs of, sensitive population and vulnerable groups as regards air pollution and aims to inform and protect them.

(21) According to the European Environment Agency Report No 22/2018 entitled ‘Unequal exposure and unequal impacts: social vulnerability to air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures in Europe’, the health of people of lower socioeconomic status tends to be more affected by air pollution than the health of the general population, as a result of their both greater exposure and higher vulnerability. This Directive takes into account the social aspects of air pollution and the socioeconomic impacts of measures taken.

(22) The effects of arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on human health, including via the food chain, and the environment, also occur via deposition. The accumulation of those substances in soils and the protection of ground water should be taken into account.

(23) The average exposure of the population to the pollutants with the highest documented impact on human health, fine particulate matter (PM

2,5

) and nitrogen dioxide, should be reduced based on the most up-to-date WHO recommendations. To that end, an average exposure reduction obligation should be introduced as a complementary air quality standard in addition to, but not as a substitute for, limit values.

(24) The Fitness Check of the Ambient Air Quality Directives, covering Directives 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC, has shown that limit values are more effective in bringing down pollutant concentrations than other types of air quality standards, such as target values. With the aim of minimising harmful effects on human health, paying particular attention to vulnerable groups and sensitive populations, and the environment, limit values should be set for the concentration of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), benzene, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air. Benzo(a)pyrene should be used as a marker for the carcinogenic risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air.

(25) To allow Member States to prepare for the revised air quality standards set by this Directive and to ensure legal continuity, for an interim period limit values and target values should be identical to those set under the repealed Directives until the new limit values apply.

(26) Ozone is a transboundary pollutant formed in the atmosphere from the emission of primary pollutants. Some of those atmospheric pollutants are addressed by Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9). Ground-level ozone adversely affects not only human health but also vegetation and ecosystems. Progress towards the target values and long-term objectives for ozone set in this Directive should be determined by the targets and emission reduction commitments provided for in Directive (EU) 2016/2284 and by implementing cost-effective measures, air quality roadmaps and air quality plans where appropriate.

(27) The ozone target values and long-term objectives of ensuring effective protection against harmful effects on human health and vegetation and ecosystems from exposure to ozone should be updated in light of the most up-to-date scientific evidence, including WHO recommendations.

(28) An alert threshold and an information threshold for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

) and ozone should be set for the protection of the general population, and especially sensitive population and vulnerable groups, from brief exposures to elevated concentrations of pollutants. Those thresholds should trigger the dissemination of information to the public on the associated health risks of exposure and the implementation, where applicable, of short-term measures to reduce pollution levels where the alert threshold is exceeded.

(29) In accordance with Article 193 TFEU, Member States are able to maintain or introduce more stringent protective measures provided that they are compatible with the Treaties and that they are notified to the Commission. Such a notification can be accompanied by an explanation of the process of how those air quality standards have been established and the scientific information used.

(30) Where air quality status is already good, it should be maintained or improved. Where the air quality standards laid down in this Directive risk not being met, or have not been met, Member States should adopt appropriate measures in accordance with the relevant timelines established in this Directive in order to comply with the limit values, average exposure reduction obligations and critical levels and, where possible, to attain the target values and ozone long-term objectives.

(31) Mercury is a very hazardous substance for human health and the environment. It is present throughout the environment and, in the form of methylmercury, has the capacity to accumulate in organisms, and in particular to concentrate in organisms higher up the food chain. Mercury released into the atmosphere is capable of being transported over long distances.

(32) Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10) aims to protect human health and the environment from the release of mercury, based on a life-cycle approach, and taking into account production, use, waste treatment and emissions. Provisions on monitoring mercury in this Directive complement and provide information for that Regulation.

(33) The risks posed by air pollution to vegetation and natural ecosystems are most important in places away from urban areas. The assessment of such risks and the compliance with critical levels for the protection of vegetation should therefore focus on places away from built-up areas. That assessment should take into account and complement requirements pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/2284 to monitor the impacts of air pollution on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and to report such impacts.

(34) Contributions from natural sources can be assessed but cannot be controlled. Therefore, where natural contributions to pollutants in ambient air can be determined with sufficient certainty, and where exceedances are due in whole or in part to these natural contributions, these should be able to, under the conditions laid down in this Directive, be subtracted when assessing compliance with air quality limit values and average exposure reduction obligations. Contributions to exceedances of particulate matter (PM

) limit values attributable to winter-sanding or winter-salting of roads should also be able to be subtracted when assessing compliance with air quality limit values provided that reasonable measures have been taken to lower concentrations. Subtractions of those contributions do not prevent Member States from taking action to reduce their health impact.

(35) It is crucial to systematically monitor air quality in air pollution hotspots, including where the pollution level is strongly influenced by emissions from heavy-pollution sources that could expose individuals and population groups to elevated risks of adverse health effects. To that end, Member States should install sampling points in the air-pollution hotspots and take appropriate measures to minimise the impact of air pollution on human health in those hotspots.

(36) For zones where conditions are particularly difficult, it should exceptionally be possible to postpone the deadline for compliance with the air quality limit values in cases where, notwithstanding the implementation of appropriate pollution abatement measures, acute compliance problems exist in specific zones. Any postponement for a given zone should be accompanied by a comprehensive air quality roadmap to be assessed by the Commission. In such a case, the air quality roadmap should set out appropriate measures to keep the exceedance period as short as possible. Member States should also demonstrate that the measures in their air quality roadmaps have been implemented to ensure compliance.

(37) Air quality plans should be developed and updated for zones or average exposure territorial units within which concentrations of pollutants in ambient air exceed the relevant air quality limit values, target values or average exposure reduction obligations. Air quality plans should also be developed and updated for ozone target values exceedances, except if there is no significant potential to reduce ozone concentrations under the given circumstances and the measures to address the exceedances would entail disproportionate costs.

(38) Air pollutants are emitted from many different sources and activities. To ensure coherence between different policies, air quality plans or air quality roadmaps should, where feasible, be consistent with plans and programmes prepared pursuant to Directives 2002/49/EC (11) and 2010/75/EU (12) of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive (EU) 2016/2284.

(39) As established by the case law of the Court of Justice (13), the fact that an air quality plan has been drawn up does not, in itself, mean that a Member State has nevertheless fulfilled its obligations to ensure that levels of air pollutants do not exceed the air quality standards established by this Directive.

(40) Air quality roadmaps should be prepared ahead of 2030 where there is a risk that Member States will not attain the limit values or, where appropriate, target values by that date, in order to ensure that levels of pollutants are reduced accordingly. The air quality roadmap should set out policies and measures in order to comply with those limit values and, where appropriate, target values by the attainment deadline. For the sake of legal clarity, and notwithstanding the specific terminology used, an air quality roadmap is a type of air quality plan as defined in this Directive.

(41) Short-term action plans should be established indicating the measures to be taken in the short term where there is a risk of an exceedance of one or more alert thresholds in order to reduce that risk and to limit its duration. Member States should be able, in certain circumstances, to refrain from establishing such short-term action plans for ozone if there is no significant potential to reduce the risk, duration or severity of such an exceedance.

(42) Air pollution has no boundaries and is shared across the Union. In most Member States, a significant share of pollution is generated outside their territory. Where appropriate, Member States should cooperate with one another if, following significant pollution originating in another Member State, the level of a pollutant exceeds, or is likely to exceed, any limit value, target value, average exposure reduction obligation or alert threshold. The transboundary nature of specific pollutants, such as ozone and particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), requires the Member States concerned to cooperate with each other in order to identify the sources of air pollution and the measures to be taken to address those sources and draw up coordinated activities, such as the coordination of air quality plans and short-term action plans, in which each Member State should address pollution sources in its territory, in order to remove such exceedances, as well as to inform the public. Where appropriate, Member States should pursue cooperation with third countries, with particular emphasis on the early involvement of candidate countries. The Commission should be informed in a timely manner of, and be invited to be present and assist in, any such cooperation, and it should be able to provide technical support to Member States upon request where appropriate.

(43) It is necessary for the Member States and the Commission to collect, exchange and disseminate air quality information in order to understand better the impacts of air pollution and develop appropriate policies. Up-to-date information, where available, on concentrations of all regulated pollutants in ambient air, information regarding impacts on health, as well as air quality plans, air quality roadmaps and short-term action plans should also be readily available to the public in a coherent and easily understandable manner.

(44) In order to ensure broad public access to air quality information, that information should be made public using digital and, where relevant, non-digital communication channels.

(45) Information on the concentrations and the deposition of the regulated pollutants should be forwarded to the Commission as a basis for regular reports. In order to facilitate the handling and comparison of air quality information, data should be made available to the Commission in a standardised form.

(46) It is necessary to adapt procedures for data provision, assessment and reporting of air quality to enable electronic means and the internet to be used as the main tools to make information available, and so that such procedures are compatible with Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (14).

(47) It is appropriate to provide for the possibility of adapting the criteria and techniques used for the assessment of the ambient air quality to scientific and technical progress and adapting thereto the information to be provided.

(48) As established by the case law of the Court of Justice (15), Member States are not to restrict legal standing to challenge a decision of a public authority to those members of the public concerned who participated in the preceding administrative procedure to adopt that decision. In addition, any review procedure has to be fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive, and provide for adequate redress mechanisms, including injunctive relief as appropriate. Furthermore, in line with the case-law of the Court of Justice (16) access to justice is, as a minimum, to be granted to the public concerned.

(49) This Directive respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (the ‘Charter’). Where damage to human health has occurred as a result of a violation of the national rules transposing Article 19(1) to (5) and Article 20(1) and (2) of this Directive, and that violation has been committed intentionally or negligently, Member States should ensure that the individuals affected by such violations have the right to claim and obtain compensation for that damage from the relevant competent authority. The rules on compensation, access to justice and penalties laid down in this Directive have the objective to avoid, prevent and reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment from air pollution, in line with Article 191(1) TFEU. Those rules seek to integrate into the policies of the Union a high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment in accordance with the principle of sustainable development as laid down in Article 37 of the Charter, and put into concrete terms the obligation to protect the right to life and to the integrity of the person and the right to healthcare laid down in Articles 2, 3 and 35 of the Charter. This Directive also contributes to the right to an effective remedy before a tribunal, as laid down in Article 47 of the Charter, in relation to the protection of human health. The penalties provided for in this Directive should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

(50) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Directive, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards further technical details for modelling applications; for determining the spatial representativeness of sampling points; on the demonstration and subtraction of exceedances attributable to natural sources; for determination of contributions from the re-suspension of particulates following winter-sanding or winter-salting; on the requirements for projections performed for the purposes of postponement of attainment deadlines and on information to be included in implementation reports; and on requirements for transmitting information and reporting on air quality as regards (i) the establishment of rules relating to information on ambient air quality to be made available by Member States to the Commission as well as timescales in which that information is to be communicated and (ii) the streamlining of the way data are reported and the reciprocal exchange of information and data from networks and individual sampling points measuring ambient air pollution within Member States. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council (17).

(51) In order to ensure that this Directive continues meeting its objectives, in particular to avoid, prevent and reduce harmful effects from ambient air quality on human health and the environment, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 TFEU should be delegated to the Commission in respect of amending Annexes III to VII, IX and X to this Directive to take account of technical and scientific developments regarding assessment of ambient air quality, measures to be considered for inclusion in the short-term action plans and public information. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making (18). In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States’ experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.

(52) The obligation to transpose this Directive into national law should be confined to those provisions which represent a substantive amendment as compared to the earlier Directives. The obligation to transpose the provisions which are unchanged arises under the earlier Directives.

(53) This Directive should be without prejudice to the obligations of the Member States relating to the time-limits for the transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Part B of Annex XI to this Directive.

(54) Since the objective of this Directive, namely to set out air quality provisions with the aim to achieve a zero-pollution objective, so that air quality within the Union is progressively improved to levels no longer considered harmful to human health, natural ecosystems or biodiversity, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States by reason of the transboundary nature of air pollutants, but can rather, by reason of its scale and effects, be better achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Directive does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Objectives

1. This Directive sets out air quality provisions with the aim of achieving a zero-pollution objective, so that air quality within the Union is progressively improved to levels no longer considered harmful to human health, natural ecosystems and biodiversity, as defined by the best available and most up-to-date scientific evidence, thus contributing to a toxic-free environment at the latest by 2050.

2. This Directive lays down limit values, target values, average exposure reduction obligations, average exposure concentration objectives, critical levels, alert thresholds, information thresholds and long-term objectives. Such air quality standards, which are set out in Annex I, shall be regularly reviewed in accordance with Article 3, in line with WHO recommendations.

3. Furthermore, this Directive contributes to achieving the Union’s pollution-reduction, biodiversity and ecosystem objectives in accordance with the 8th Environment Action Programme, as well as enhanced synergies between the Union’s air quality policy and other relevant Union policies.

Article 2

Subject matter

This Directive lays down provisions in relation to the following:

(1) defining and establishing objectives for ambient air quality designed to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects on human health and the environment;

(2) setting common methods and criteria to assess the ambient air quality in Member States;

(3) monitoring current ambient air quality and long-term trends as well as impacts of Union and national measures on ambient air quality;

(4) ensuring that information on ambient air quality is comparable across the Union and made available to the public;

(5) maintaining air quality where it is good and improving it in other cases;

(6) promoting increased cooperation between Member States and their competent authorities and bodies in reducing air pollution.

Article 3

Regular review

1. By 31 December 2030 and every 5 years thereafter, and more often if substantial new scientific findings, such as revised WHO Air Quality Guidelines, point to the need for it, the Commission shall review the scientific evidence related to air pollutants and their effects on human health and the environment relevant to achieving the objectives set out in Article 1 and present a report with the main findings to the European Parliament and to the Council.

2. The review referred to in paragraph 1 shall assess whether applicable air quality standards continue to be appropriate to achieve the objective of avoiding, preventing or reducing harmful effects on human health and the environment and whether additional air pollutants should be covered.

In order to achieve the objectives set out in Article 1, the review shall assess options and timelines for the alignment of air quality standards with the most recent WHO Air Quality Guidelines and the most up-to-date scientific evidence.

The review shall also assess all other provisions of this Directive, including those on postponement of the attainment deadlines and on transboundary air pollution, and furthermore, it shall assess the most up-to-date scientific evidence, including, where applicable, on air pollutants measured at the monitoring supersites referred to in Article 10 but currently not included in Annex I.

For the purposes of the review, the Commission shall take into account, inter alia, the following:

(a) the latest scientific information from relevant Union bodies, international organisations, such as the WHO and the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, and other relevant scientific organisations;

(b) behavioural changes, fiscal policies and technological developments impacting air quality and its assessment;

(c) air quality situations and associated impacts on human health and the environment, including the effects of ozone on vegetation, in Member States;

(d) direct and indirect healthcare and environmental costs associated with air pollution;

(e) the nature and socioeconomic impacts of complementary actions to be implemented to achieve new objectives as well as a cost-benefit analysis of these actions;

(f) progress made in implementing national and Union reduction measures for pollutants and improving air quality;

(g) relevant source legislation at Union level for sectors and activities that contribute to air pollution, including progress made in implementing such legislation;

(h) relevant information submitted for the purposes of the review to the Commission by Member States;

(i) the introduction by individual Member States of more stringent air quality standards in accordance with Article 193 TFEU.

3. The European Environment Agency shall assist the Commission in carrying out the review.

4. Where the Commission deems it necessary, as a result of the review, it shall present a proposal to revise air quality standards or to cover other air pollutants. Furthermore, where the Commission deems it necessary, it shall present proposals to introduce or revise any relevant source legislation in order to contribute to achieving the proposed revised air quality standards at Union level.

5. If the Commission identifies during the review that further measures are needed to achieve applicable air quality standards in a significant area of the Union territory, the Commission may propose further action to be taken at Union level.

Article 4

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply:

(1) ‘ambient air’ means outdoor air in the troposphere, excluding workplaces as defined in Article 2 of Council Directive 89/654/EEC (19) where provisions concerning health and safety at work apply and to which members of the public do not have regular access;

(2) ‘air quality standards’ means limit values, target values, average exposure reduction obligations, average exposure concentration objectives, critical levels, alert thresholds, information thresholds and long-term objectives;

(3) ‘pollutant’ means any substance present in ambient air and likely to have harmful effects on human health or the environment;

(4) ‘level’ means the concentration of a pollutant in ambient air or the deposition thereof on surfaces in a given time;

(5) ‘total deposition’ means the total mass of pollutants which is transferred from the atmosphere to surfaces, such as soil, vegetation, water or buildings, in a given area within a given time;

(6) ‘PM

’ means particulate matter which passes through a size-selective inlet as defined in the reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM

, EN 12341, with a 50 % efficiency cut-off at 10 μm aerodynamic diameter;

(7) ‘PM

2,5

’ means particulate matter which passes through a size-selective inlet as defined in the reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM

2,5

, EN 12341, with a 50 % efficiency cut-off at 2,5 μm aerodynamic diameter;

(8) ‘oxides of nitrogen’ means the sum of the volume mixing ratio (ppbv) of nitrogen monoxide (nitric oxide) and nitrogen dioxide expressed in units of mass concentration of nitrogen dioxide (μg/m

);

(9) ‘arsenic’, ‘cadmium’, ‘lead’, ‘nickel’ and ‘benzo(a)pyrene’ mean the total content of these elements and compounds in the PM

fraction;

(10) ‘polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons’ means those organic compounds, composed of at least two fused aromatic rings made entirely from carbon and hydrogen;

(11) ‘total gaseous mercury’ means elemental mercury vapour (Hg

) and reactive gaseous mercury, i.e. water-soluble mercury species with sufficiently high vapour pressure to exist in the gas phase;

(12) ‘volatile organic compounds’ or ‘VOC’ means organic compounds from anthropogenic and biogenic sources, other than methane, that are capable of producing photochemical oxidants by reactions with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight;

(13) ‘ozone precursor substances’ means substances which contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone;

(14) ‘black carbon’ or ‘BC’ means carbonaceous aerosols measured by light absorption;

(15) ‘ultrafine particles’ or ‘UFP’ means particles with a diameter less than or equal to 100 nm, where UFP are measured as the particle number concentrations per cubic centimetre for a size range with a lower limit of 10 nm and for a size range with no restriction on the upper limit;

(16) ‘oxidative potential of particulate matter’ means a measure of the capacity of particulate matter to oxidise potential target molecules;

(17) ‘zone’ means part of the territory of a Member State, as delimited by that Member State for the purposes of air quality assessment and management;

(18) ‘average exposure territorial unit’ means a part of the territory of a Member State designated by that Member State for the purposes of determining the average exposure indicator, corresponding to a NUTS 1 or NUTS 2 region as set out in Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (20) or a combination of two or more adjacent NUTS 1 or NUTS 2 regions, provided that their total combined size is smaller than the entire territory of that Member State and not larger than 85 000 km

;

(19) ‘agglomeration’ means a conurbation with a population in excess of 250 000 inhabitants or, where the population is 250 000 inhabitants or fewer, with a given population density per km

to be established by the Member States;

(20) ‘assessment’ means any method used to measure, calculate, predict or estimate levels;

(21) ‘assessment threshold’ means the level that determines the required assessment regime to be used to assess ambient air quality;

(22) ‘fixed measurements’ means measurements taken at sampling points, either continuously or by random sampling, at constant locations for at least 1 calendar year to determine the levels in accordance with the relevant data quality objectives;

(23) ‘indicative measurements’ means measurements, taken either at regular intervals during a calendar year or by random sampling, to determine the levels in accordance with data quality objectives that are less strict than those required for fixed measurements;

(24) ‘modelling application’ means application of a modelling system, understood as a chain of models and submodels, including all necessary input data, and any post-processing;

(25) ‘objective estimation’ means information on the concentration or deposition level of a specific pollutant obtained through expert analysis and which can include use of statistical tools;

(26) ‘spatial representativeness’ means an assessment approach whereby the air quality metrics observed at a sampling point are representative for an explicitly delineated geographical area to the extent that air quality metrics within that area do not differ from the metrics observed at the sampling point by more than a pre-defined tolerance level;

(27) ‘air pollution hotspots’ means locations within a zone with the highest concentrations to which the population is likely to be directly or indirectly exposed for a period which is significant in relation to the averaging period of the limit values or target values, including where the pollution level is strongly influenced by the emissions from heavy pollution sources, such as nearby congested and heavily trafficked roads, a single industrial source or an industrial area with many sources, ports, airports, intensive residential heating, or a combination thereof;

(28) ‘urban background locations’ means places in urban and suburban areas where levels are representative of the exposure of the general urban population;

(29) ‘rural background locations’ means places in rural areas with low population density where levels are representative of the exposure of the general rural population, vegetation and natural ecosystems;

(30) ‘monitoring supersite’ means a monitoring station at an urban background location or rural background location that combines multiple sampling points to gather long-term data on several pollutants;

(31) ‘limit value’ means a level which is fixed on the basis of scientific knowledge, with the aim of avoiding, preventing or reducing harmful effects on human health or the environment, and which is to be attained within a given period and not to be exceeded once attained;

(32) ‘target value’ means a level fixed on the basis of scientific knowledge, with the aim of avoiding, preventing or reducing harmful effects on human health or the environment, to be attained where possible over a given period;

(33) ‘average exposure indicator’ or ‘AEI’ means an average level determined on the basis of measurements at urban background locations throughout the average exposure territorial unit or, if there is no urban area located in that territorial unit, at rural background locations, and which reflects population exposure, used to check whether the average exposure reduction obligation and the average exposure concentration objective for that territorial unit have been met;

(34) ‘average exposure reduction obligation’ means a percentage reduction of the average exposure of the population, expressed as an average exposure indicator, of an average exposure territorial unit, set with the aim of reducing harmful effects on human health, to be attained over a given period and not to be exceeded once attained;

(35) ‘average exposure concentration objective’ means a level of the average exposure indicator to be attained, with the aim of reducing harmful effects on human health;

(36) ‘critical level’ means a level above which direct adverse effects can occur on some receptors, such as trees, other plants or natural ecosystems but not on humans;

(37) ‘alert threshold’ means a level beyond which there is a risk to human health from brief exposure for the population as a whole and at which immediate steps are to be taken by Member States;

(38) ‘information threshold’ means a level beyond which there is a risk to human health from brief exposure for particularly sensitive population and vulnerable groups and for which immediate and appropriate information is necessary;

(39) ‘long-term objective’ means a level to be attained in the long-term, save where not achievable through proportionate measures, with the aim of providing effective protection of human health and the environment;

(40) ‘contributions from natural sources’ means emissions of pollutants not caused directly or indirectly by human activities, including natural events such as volcanic eruptions, seismic activities, geothermal activities, wild-land fires, high-wind events, sea sprays or the atmospheric re-suspension or transport of natural particles from dry regions;

(41) ‘air quality plan’ means a plan that sets out policies and measures in order to comply with limit values, target values or average exposure reduction obligations once these have been exceeded;

(42) ‘air quality roadmap’ means an air quality plan, adopted ahead of the attainment deadline of limit values and target values, that sets out policies and measures in order to comply with those limit values and target values within the attainment deadline;

(43) ‘short-term action plan’ means a plan that sets out emergency measures to be taken in the short term to reduce the immediate risk or the duration of the exceedance of the alert thresholds;

(44) ‘sensitive population and vulnerable groups’ means those population groups that are permanently or temporarily more sensitive or more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution than the average population, because of specific characteristics that make the health effects of exposure more significant or because they have a higher sensitivity or a lower threshold for health effects or have a reduced ability to protect themselves;

(45) ‘the public concerned’ means one or more natural or legal persons affected or likely to be affected by, or having an interest in, the decision-making procedures related to the implementation of Article 9, 19 or 20; for the purposes of this definition, non-governmental organisations promoting the protection of human health or the environment and meeting any requirements under national law shall be deemed to have an interest.

Article 5

Responsibilities

Member States shall designate at the appropriate levels the competent authorities and bodies responsible for the following:

(a) assessment of ambient air quality, including ensuring an adequate functioning and maintenance of the monitoring network;

(b) approval of measurement systems (methods, equipment, networks and laboratories);

(d) promoting the accuracy of modelling applications;

(e) analysis of assessment methods;

(f) coordination on their territory if Union-wide quality assurance programmes are being organised by the Commission;

(g) cooperation with the other Member States and the Commission, including on transboundary air pollution;

(h) establishment of air quality plans and air quality roadmaps;

(i) establishment of short-term action plans;

(j) provision and maintenance of an air quality index and other relevant public information as specified in Annex X.

Article 6

Establishment of zones and average exposure territorial units

Member States shall establish zones and average exposure territorial units throughout their territory, including, where appropriate for the purposes of air quality assessment and management, at the level of agglomerations. Air quality assessment and air quality management shall be carried out in all zones and average exposure territorial units.

CHAPTER II

ASSESSMENT OF AMBIENT AIR QUALITY AND DEPOSITION RATES

Article 7

Assessment regime

1. The assessment thresholds specified in Annex II shall apply to sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), benzene, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, benzo(a)pyrene and ozone in ambient air.

Each zone shall be classified in relation to those assessment thresholds.

2. Member States shall review the classification referred to in paragraph 1 at least every 5 years in accordance with the procedure laid down in paragraph 3. However, classifications shall be reviewed more frequently in the event of significant changes in activities impacting the ambient concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), benzene, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, benzo(a)pyrene or ozone.

3. Exceedances of the assessment thresholds specified in Annex II shall be determined on the basis of concentrations during the previous 5 years where sufficient data are available. An assessment threshold shall be deemed to have been exceeded if it has been exceeded during at least 3 separate years out of those previous 5 years.

Where data are available for less than 5 years, Member States may combine measurement campaigns of short duration during the period of the year and at locations likely to be typical of the highest pollution levels, with information from emission inventories and results obtained from modelling applications to determine exceedances of the assessment thresholds.

Article 8

Assessment criteria

1. Member States shall assess ambient air quality with respect to the pollutants referred to in Article 7 in all their zones, in accordance with the criteria laid down in paragraphs 2 to 6 of this Article and in accordance with Annex IV.

2. In all zones classified as above the assessment thresholds established for the pollutants referred to in Article 7, fixed measurements shall be used to assess the ambient air quality. Those fixed measurements may be supplemented by modelling applications or indicative measurements to assess air quality and to provide adequate information on the spatial distribution of air pollutants and on the spatial representativeness of fixed measurements.

3. From 2 years following the adoption of the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article, modelling applications or indicative measurements shall be used in addition to fixed measurements to assess the ambient air quality in all zones where the level of pollutants exceeds a relevant limit value or target value set out in Annex I.

The modelling applications or indicative measurements referred to in the first subparagraph shall provide information on the spatial distribution of pollutants. Where modelling applications are used, they shall also provide information on the spatial representativeness of fixed measurements and they shall be carried out as often as appropriate but at least every 5 years.

4. In all zones classified as below the assessment thresholds established for the pollutants referred to in Article 7, modelling applications, indicative measurements, objective estimations or a combination thereof shall be sufficient for the assessment of the ambient air quality.

5. The results of modelling applications used in accordance with paragraph 3 or 4 of this Article or Article 9(3), or of indicative measurements shall be taken into account for the purpose of assessing air quality with respect to the limit values and target values.

If fixed measurements with an area of spatial representativeness covering the area of exceedance calculated by the modelling application are available, a Member State may choose not to report the modelled exceedance as an exceedance of the relevant limit values and target values.

6. If modelling applications used in accordance with paragraphs 3 or 4 show an exceedance of any limit value or target value in an area of the zone that is not covered by fixed measurements and their area of spatial representativeness, at least one additional fixed or indicative measurement may be used at possible additional air pollution hotspots in the zone as identified by the modelling application.

If modelling applications used in accordance with Article 9(3) show an exceedance of any limit value or target value in an area of the zone that is not covered by fixed measurements and their area of spatial representativeness, at least one additional fixed or indicative measurement shall be used at possible additional air pollution hotspots in the zone as identified by the modelling application.

Where additional fixed measurements are used, those measurements shall be established within 2 calendar years after the exceedance was modelled. Where additional indicative measurements are used, those measurements shall be established within 1 calendar year after the exceedance was modelled. The measurements shall cover at least 1 calendar year in accordance with the minimum data coverage requirements set out in Point B of Annex V, to assess the concentration level of the relevant pollutant.

Where a Member State chooses not to conduct any additional fixed or indicative measurements, the exceedance shown by modelling applications shall be used for air quality assessment.

7. By 11 June 2026, the Commission shall provide, by means of implementing acts, further technical details for:

(a) modelling applications, including how results from modelling applications and indicative measurements shall be taken into account when assessing air quality and how potential exceedances that are identified by those assessment methods can be verified;

(b) determining the spatial representativeness of sampling points.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 26(2).

8. The use of bio indicators shall be considered where regional patterns of the impact on ecosystems are to be assessed, including in accordance with the monitoring undertaken under Directive (EU) 2016/2284.

Article 9

Sampling points

1. The location of sampling points for the measurement of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), benzene, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, benzo(a)pyrene and ozone in ambient air shall be determined in accordance with Annex IV.

2. In each zone where the level of pollutants exceeds the assessment threshold specified in Annex II, the number of sampling points for each pollutant shall not be less than the minimum number of sampling points specified in Points A and C of Annex III.

3. For zones where the level of pollutants exceeds the relevant assessment threshold specified in Annex II, but not the respective limit values, target values and critical levels specified in Annex I, the minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurements may be reduced by up to 50 %, in accordance with Points A and C of Annex III, provided that the following conditions are met:

(a) indicative measurements or modelling applications provide sufficient information for the assessment of air quality with regard to limit values, target values, critical levels, alert thresholds and information thresholds, as well as adequate information for the public, in addition to the information provided by the sampling points for fixed measurements;

(b) the number of sampling points to be installed and the spatial resolution of indicative measurements and modelling applications are sufficient for the concentration of the relevant pollutant to be established in accordance with the data quality objectives specified in Points A and B of Annex V and enable assessment results to meet the requirements set out in Point E of Annex V;

(c) the number of indicative measurements, if used to meet the requirements of this paragraph, is at least the same as the number of fixed measurements that are being replaced and the indicative measurements are evenly distributed over the calendar year;

(d) for ozone, nitrogen dioxide is measured at all remaining sampling points measuring ozone except at rural background locations for ozone assessment as referred to in Point B of Annex IV.

4. One or more sampling points adapted to the monitoring objective set out in Section 3, Point A, of Annex VII, shall be installed in a Member State’s territory to supply data on concentrations of the ozone precursor substances listed in Point B of that Section at locations determined in accordance with Point C of that Section.

5. Nitrogen dioxide shall be measured at a minimum of 50 % of the ozone sampling points required under Point A, Table 2, of Annex III. That measurement shall be continuous, except at rural background locations, as referred to in Point B of Annex IV, where other measurement methods may be used.

6. Each Member State shall, in accordance with Annex IV, ensure that the distribution of sampling points used for the calculation of the average exposure indicators for PM

2,5

and nitrogen dioxide reflect the general population exposure adequately. The number of sampling points shall be no less than that determined by application of Point B of Annex III.

7. Sampling points at which exceedances of a relevant limit value or target value specified in Section 1 of Annex I were recorded within the previous 3 years shall not be relocated, unless a relocation is necessary due to special circumstances, including spatial development. Relocation of such sampling points shall be supported by modelling applications or indicative measurements and shall, wherever possible, ensure continuity of measurements and be done within their area of spatial representativeness. A detailed justification of any relocation of such sampling points shall be fully documented in accordance with the requirements set out in Point D of Annex IV.

8. To assess the contribution of benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air, each Member State shall monitor other relevant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at a limited number of sampling points. Those polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons shall include at least: benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(j)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, and dibenz(a,h)anthracene. Sampling points for those polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons shall be co-located with sampling points for benzo(a)pyrene and shall be selected in such a way that geographical variation and long-term trends can be identified.

9. In addition to the monitoring required under Article 10, Member States shall monitor ultrafine particles levels in accordance with Point D of Annex III and Section 4 of Annex VII. Monitoring of black carbon concentrations may be undertaken at the same locations.

Article 10

Monitoring supersites

1. Each Member State shall establish at least one monitoring supersite per 10 million inhabitants at an urban background location. Member States that have fewer than 10 million inhabitants shall establish at least one monitoring supersite at an urban background location.

Member States whose territory is more than 10 000 km

, but not more than 100 000 km

, shall establish at least one monitoring supersite at a rural background location. Each Member State whose territory is more than 100 000 km

shall establish at least one monitoring supersite per 100 000 km

at a rural background location.

2. The siting of monitoring supersites shall be determined for urban background locations and rural background locations in accordance with Point B of Annex IV.

3. All sampling points that meet the requirements laid down in Points B and C of Annex IV and which are installed at monitoring supersites may be taken into account for the purpose of meeting the requirements on the minimum number of sampling points for the relevant pollutants as specified in Annex III.

4. A Member State may establish, with one or more neighbouring Member States, one or more joint monitoring supersites to meet the requirements set out in paragraph 1. This does not affect the obligation of each Member State to establish at least one monitoring supersite at an urban background location and the obligation of each Member State whose territory is more than 10 000 km

to establish at least one monitoring supersite at a rural background location.

5. Measurements at monitoring supersites at urban background locations and rural background locations shall include the pollutants listed in Section 1, Tables 1 and 2, of Annex VII and may also include the pollutants listed in Table 3 of that Section.

6. A Member State may choose not to measure black carbon, ultrafine particles or ammonia in half of its monitoring supersites at rural background locations if the number of its monitoring supersites at rural background locations exceeds the number of its monitoring supersites at urban background locations by at least a ratio of 2:1, as long as the selection of its monitoring supersites is representative for those pollutants.

7. Where appropriate, monitoring shall be coordinated with the monitoring strategy and measurement programme of EMEP, the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS), and the monitoring of air pollution impacts undertaken pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/2284.

Article 11

Reference measurement methods, modelling applications and data quality objectives

1. Member States shall apply the reference measurement methods specified in Points A and C of Annex VI.

However, other measurement methods may be used subject to the conditions set out in Points B, C and D of Annex VI.

2. Member States shall apply air quality modelling applications subject to the conditions set out in Point E of Annex VI.

3. Air quality assessment data shall meet the data quality objectives laid down in Annex V.

CHAPTER III

AMBIENT AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Article 12

Requirements where levels are lower than the limit values, target values and average exposure concentration objectives

1. In zones where the levels of pollutants in ambient air are below the respective limit values specified in Section 1 of Annex I, Member States shall maintain the levels of those pollutants below the limit values.

2. In zones in which the levels of pollutants in ambient air are below the respective target values specified in Sections 1 and 2 of Annex I, Member States shall take the necessary measures not entailing disproportionate costs to maintain those levels below the target values.

Member States shall endeavour to attain the long-term objectives for ozone specified in Section 2 of Annex I, and, once attained, shall endeavour to maintain the ozone levels below those long-term objectives in so far as factors including the transboundary nature of ozone pollution, volatile organic compounds from biogenic sources and meteorological conditions so permit, and provided that any necessary measures do not entail disproportionate costs.

3. In average exposure territorial units where the average exposure indicators for PM

2,5

and NO

are below the respective value of the average exposure concentration objectives for those pollutants as laid down in Section 5 of Annex I, Member States shall maintain the levels of those pollutants below the average exposure concentration objectives.

4. Member States shall endeavour to achieve and preserve the best ambient air quality and a high level of protection of human health and the environment, with the aim of achieving a zero-pollution objective as referred to in Article 1(1), in line with WHO recommendations, and below the assessment thresholds laid down in Annex II.

Article 13

Limit values, target values and average exposure reduction obligations

1. Member States shall ensure that, throughout their zones, levels of pollutants in ambient air do not exceed the respective limit values laid down in Section 1 of Annex I.

2. Member States shall ensure, by taking all necessary measures not entailing disproportionate costs, that levels of pollutants throughout their zones do not exceed the respective target values laid down in Sections 1 and 2 of Annex I.

3. Member States shall ensure that the average exposure reduction obligations for PM

2,5

and NO

laid down in Section 5, Point B, of Annex I, are met throughout their average exposure territorial units, where they exceed the average exposure concentration objectives set out in Section 5, Point C, of Annex I.

4. Compliance with paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be assessed in accordance with Annex IV.

5. The average exposure indicators shall be assessed in accordance with Section 5, Point A, of Annex I.

6. The deadline for attaining the limit values laid down in Section 1, Table 1, of Annex I may be postponed in accordance with Article 18.

7. Member States may maintain or introduce more stringent protective measures, including air quality standards that are more stringent than those referred to in this Article, in accordance with Article 193 TFEU. Member States shall notify such measures to the Commission within 3 months of their adoption.

Article 14

Critical levels for the protection of vegetation and natural ecosystems

Member States shall ensure compliance with the critical levels specified in Section 3 of Annex I as assessed in accordance with Point A, point 1, and Point B, point 3, of Annex IV.

Article 15

Exceedances of alert thresholds or information thresholds

1. The alert thresholds for concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

) and ozone in ambient air shall be those laid down in Section 4, Point A, of Annex I.

2. The information thresholds for concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

) and ozone shall be those laid down in Section 4, Point B, of Annex I.

3. Where any alert threshold laid down in Section 4, Point A, of Annex I is exceeded, or, where appropriate, if it is predicted to be exceeded based on modelling applications or other forecasting tools, Member States shall, where applicable, implement without undue delay the emergency measures indicated in the short-term action plans established pursuant to Article 20.

4. Where any alert threshold or any information threshold laid down in Section 4 of Annex I is exceeded, or, where appropriate, if it is predicted to be exceeded based on modelling applications or other forecasting tools, Member States shall take the necessary steps to inform the public within the shortest possible timeframe and as far as possible within a few hours, in accordance with points 2 and 3 of Annex X, making use of different media and communication channels and ensuring broad public access.

5. Member States may maintain or introduce more stringent protective measures, including alert thresholds or information thresholds that are more stringent than those referred to in this Article, in accordance with Article 193 TFEU. Member States shall notify such measures to the Commission within 3 months of their adoption.

Article 16

Contributions from natural sources

1. Member States may, for a given year, identify:

(a) zones where exceedances of limit values for a given pollutant are attributable to natural sources; and

(b) average exposure territorial units, where exceedances of the level determined by the average exposure reduction obligations are attributable to natural sources.

2. Member States shall provide the Commission with lists of any such zones and average exposure territorial units, as referred to in paragraph 1, together with information on concentrations and sources and the evidence demonstrating that the exceedances are attributable to natural sources.

3. Where the Commission has been informed of an exceedance attributable to natural sources in accordance with paragraph 2, that exceedance shall not be considered as an exceedance for the purposes of this Directive. If the Commission considers that the evidence provided by a Member State is not sufficient, it shall inform that Member State that the exceedance is not considered to be attributable to natural sources until that Member State provides appropriate additional information.

4. By 31 December 2026, the Commission shall provide, by means of implementing acts, technical details on the demonstration and subtraction of exceedances attributable to natural sources. Such technical details shall specify the content of the evidence to be provided by Member States pursuant to paragraph 2.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 26(2).

Article 17

Exceedances attributable to winter-sanding or winter-salting of roads

1. Member States may, for a given year, identify zones within which limit values for PM

are exceeded in ambient air due to the re-suspension of particulates following winter-sanding or winter-salting of roads.

2. Member States shall provide the Commission with lists of any such zones, as referred to in paragraph 1, together with information on concentrations and sources of PM

in such zones.

Member States shall also provide the evidence demonstrating that any exceedances are due to re-suspended particulates and that reasonable measures have been taken to lower such concentrations.

3. Without prejudice to Article 16, in the case of zones referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States need to establish the air quality plan provided for in Article 19 only in so far as exceedances are attributable to PM

sources other than winter-sanding or winter-salting of roads.

4. By 31 December 2026, the Commission shall provide, by means of implementing acts, technical details for the methodology for determining contributions from the re-suspension of particulates following winter-sanding or winter-salting of roads, as well as the information to be provided by Member States pursuant to paragraph 2, which shall include information on the contribution of re-suspension to daily concentration levels where applicable.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 26(2).

Article 18

Postponement of attainment deadline and exemption from the obligation to apply certain limit values

1. Where, in a given zone, conformity with the limit values for particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), nitrogen dioxide, benzene or benzo(a)pyrene cannot be achieved by the deadline specified in Section 1, Table 1, of Annex I, Member States may postpone that deadline for that particular zone by a period justified by an air quality roadmap and provided that the conditions set out in paragraph 2 of this Article are met:

(a) up to 1 January 2040, if justified by site-specific dispersion characteristics, orographic boundary conditions, adverse climatic conditions, transboundary contributions, or where the necessary reductions can only be achieved by replacing a considerable fraction of the existing domestic heating systems that are the source of pollution causing exceedances; or

(b) up to 1 January 2035, if justified by projections that demonstrate that even taking into account the expected impact of effective air pollution measures identified in the air quality roadmap, the limit values cannot be attained by the attainment deadline.

Where an attainment deadline has been postponed in accordance with the first subparagraph, point (b), of this paragraph, but attainment cannot be achieved by that postponed deadline, Member States may postpone the deadline for that particular zone for a second and last time by a period which is no longer than 2 years from the end of the first postponement period and which is justified by an updated air quality roadmap, provided that the conditions set out in paragraph 2 are met.

2. Member States may postpone an attainment deadline in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article if the following conditions are met:

(a) an air quality roadmap is established by 31 December 2028 that meets the requirements listed in Article 19(6), (7) and (8) for the zone to which the postponement would apply;

(b) the air quality roadmap referred to in point (a) of this paragraph is supplemented by information on air pollution abatement measures listed in Point B of Annex VIII and demonstrates how exceedance periods above the limit values will be kept as short as possible;

(c) the air quality roadmap referred to in point (a) of this paragraph is underpinned by air quality projections, including those performed for the purposes of Point A, point 5 and point 7(e), of Annex VIII, which show how the limit values will be attained as soon as possible and no later than by the end of the postponed attainment deadline, taking into account reasonable and proportionate measures;

(d) the air quality roadmap referred to in point (a) of this paragraph outlines how the public and, in particular, sensitive population and vulnerable groups will be informed in a coherent and easily understandable manner about the consequences of the postponement for human health and the environment;

(e) the air quality roadmap referred to in point (a) of this paragraph outlines how additional funding, including via relevant national programmes, and Union funding programmes where applicable, will be mobilised to accelerate the improvement of air quality in the zone to which the postponement would apply;

(f) the conditions laid down in paragraph 3 are fulfilled throughout the period of postponement of the attainment deadline;

(g) where an attainment deadline is postponed in accordance with paragraph 1, second subparagraph, the updated air quality roadmap referred to in that subparagraph demonstrates that the first air quality roadmap has been implemented or that steps have been taken in view of its implementation and is supplemented by an analysis showing that the original projections of compliance made in accordance with point (c) of this paragraph did not materialise.

3. During the period of postponement of an attainment deadline in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article, the Member State shall ensure that the following conditions are met:

(a) the measures in the air quality roadmap referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, where applicable as updated in accordance with point (b) of this paragraph, are being implemented, as demonstrated by the Member State by way of an implementation report, including updated projections of emissions and, where possible, of concentrations provided to the Commission on a two-and-a-half yearly basis and for the first time by 30 June 2031; where relevant, reference may be made to the most recent programmes and projections of emissions reported pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/2284 and the accompanying informative inventory report and, where relevant, the implementation report may be integrated in the updated air quality roadmap;

(b) the air quality roadmap referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article is updated in accordance with Article 19(5);

(c) from 1 January 2035, the concentration levels for the relevant pollutant show a general decreasing trend in line with an indicative trajectory towards compliance estimated in an updated air quality roadmap established pursuant to Point A, point 7(e), of Annex VIII;

(d) the implementation reports and the updated air quality roadmaps are communicated to the Commission within 2 months of their adoption.

4. Member States shall notify the Commission no later than 31 January 2029 where, in their view, paragraph 1, first subparagraph, point (a) or (b), is applicable, and shall communicate the air quality roadmap referred to in paragraph 1 and all relevant information necessary for the Commission to assess whether the invoked reason for postponement and the conditions set out in that paragraph are satisfied.

Member States shall notify the Commission no later than 31 January 2034 where, in their view, attainment cannot be achieved by an attainment deadline postponed in accordance with paragraph 1, second subparagraph, and shall communicate the updated air quality roadmap referred to in paragraph 1 and all relevant information necessary for the Commission to assess whether the invoked reason for a second and last postponement and the conditions set out in that paragraph are satisfied.

As regards the projections provided as a reason for postponement, Member States shall justify the methods as well as the data used to obtain those projections.

In its assessment, the Commission shall take into account air quality projections provided by the Member State concerned, the estimated effects on ambient air quality in that Member State of measures that have been taken by that Member State as well as estimated effects on ambient air quality of Union measures.

Where the Commission has raised no objections within 9 months of receipt of that notification, the relevant conditions for the application of paragraph 1 shall be deemed to be satisfied.

If objections are raised, the Commission may require the Member State concerned to adjust or provide a new air quality roadmap to meet the requirements set out in paragraph 1.

5. By 31 December 2026, the Commission shall provide, by means of implementing acts, further technical details on the requirements for projections performed for the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article with the objective to show how the limit values specified in Section 1, Table 1, of Annex I will be attained, taking into account reasonable and proportionate measures. Furthermore, it shall specify information to be included in implementation reports for the purposes of paragraph 3 of this Article.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 26(2).

CHAPTER IV

PLANS

Article 19

Air quality plans and air quality roadmaps

1. Where, in given zones, the levels of pollutants in ambient air exceed any limit value or target value laid down in Section 1 of Annex I, Member States shall establish air quality plans for those zones that set out appropriate measures to achieve the limit value or target value concerned and to keep the exceedance period as short as possible, and in any case no longer than 4 years from the end of the calendar year in which the first exceedance was recorded. Those air quality plans shall be established as soon as possible and no later than 2 years after the calendar year during which that exceedance of any limit value or target value was recorded.

Where in a given zone an exceedance of a limit value is already covered by an air quality roadmap, Member States shall ensure that the measures set out in that roadmap are appropriate to keep the exceedance period as short as possible and, where relevant, take additional and more effective measures and follow the procedure for updating an air quality roadmap as set out in paragraph 5.

2. Where in territorial units covering at least one zone, the levels of pollutants in ambient air exceed any ozone target value, laid down in Section 2 of Annex I, Member States shall establish air quality plans for those territorial units that set out appropriate measures in order to achieve the ozone target value and to keep the exceedance period as short as possible. Those air quality plans shall be established as soon as possible and no later than 2 years after the calendar year during which the exceedance of the ozone target value was recorded.

Where in a given territorial unit an exceedance of an ozone target value is already covered by an air quality roadmap, Member States shall ensure that the measures set out in that roadmap are appropriate to keep the exceedance period as short as possible and, where relevant, follow the procedure for updating an air quality roadmap as set out in paragraph 5.

However, Member States may refrain from establishing such air quality plans or air quality roadmaps to address the exceedance of ozone where there is no significant potential to reduce ozone concentrations, considering geographical and meteorological conditions, and where the measures would entail disproportionate costs.

Where an air quality plan or air quality roadmap is not established, Member States shall provide to the public and the Commission a detailed justification as to why there is no significant potential to reduce the exceedance resulting in a decision not to establish an air quality plan or air quality roadmap.

At least every 5 years, Member States shall reassess the potential to reduce ozone concentrations.

For territorial units where the ozone target value is exceeded, Member States shall ensure that the relevant national air pollution control programme prepared pursuant to Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2016/2284 includes measures addressing ozone precursors covered by that Directive.

3. Where in a given average exposure territorial unit, the average exposure reduction obligation laid down in Section 5 of Annex I is not achieved, Member States shall establish air quality plans for those average exposure territorial units that set out appropriate measures to achieve the average exposure reduction obligation and to keep the exceedance period as short as possible. Those air quality plans shall be established as soon as possible and no later than 2 years after the calendar year during which the exceedance of the average exposure reduction obligation was recorded.

4. Where from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2029 in a zone or territorial unit, the levels of pollutants are above any limit value or target value to be attained by 1 January 2030 as laid down in Section 1, Table 1, of Annex I and in Section 2, Point B, of Annex I, and without prejudice to paragraph 2, third subparagraph, of this Article, Member States shall establish an air quality roadmap for the pollutant concerned to attain the respective limit values or target values by the expiration of the attainment deadline. Those air quality roadmaps shall be established as soon as possible and no later than 2 years after the calendar year during which the exceedance was recorded.

However, Member States may refrain from establishing such air quality roadmaps when the baseline scenario following the information required by Point A, point 5, of Annex VIII, shows that the limit value or target value will be achieved with the measures that are already in force, including when the exceedance is caused by temporary activities influencing the levels of pollutants in a single year. Where an air quality roadmap is not established pursuant to this subparagraph, Member States shall provide to the public and the Commission a detailed justification.

5. Where exceedances of any limit value, average exposure reduction obligation or target value persist during the third calendar year after the deadline for establishment of an air quality plan or air quality roadmap, and without prejudice to paragraph 2, third subparagraph, Member States shall update the air quality plan or air quality roadmap and the measures therein, including their impact on projected emissions and concentrations, no later than 5 years following the deadline for establishment of the previous air quality plan or air quality roadmap and take additional and more effective measures to keep the exceedance period as short as possible.

6. Air quality plans and air quality roadmaps shall contain at least the following information:

(a) the information listed in Point A, points 1 to 7, of Annex VIII;

(b) where applicable, the information listed in Point A, points 8, 9 and 10, of Annex VIII;

Member States shall include, where appropriate, the measures referred to in Article 20(2) and specific measures aiming at the protection of sensitive population and vulnerable groups, including children, in their air quality plans and air quality roadmaps.

Member States shall assess, when preparing air quality plans or air quality roadmaps, the risk of exceeding the respective alert thresholds for the pollutants concerned. That analysis shall be used for establishing short-term action plans where applicable.

Where air quality plans or air quality roadmaps are to be established in respect of several pollutants or air quality standards, Member States shall, where appropriate, establish integrated air quality plans or air quality roadmaps covering all pollutants and air quality standards concerned.

Member States shall, to the extent feasible, ensure consistency of their air quality plans and air quality roadmaps with other plans that have a significant impact on air quality, including those required under Directives 2002/49/EC, 2010/75/EU and (EU) 2016/2284 and under climate, biodiversity, energy, transport and agriculture legislation.

7. Member States shall consult the public, in accordance with Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (21), and the competent authorities, which, by reason of their responsibilities in the field of air pollution and air quality, are likely to be concerned by the implementation of the air quality plans and air quality roadmaps, on draft air quality plans and draft air quality roadmaps and on any significant updates of air quality plans and air quality roadmaps prior to their finalisation. Member States shall ensure that the public, when consulted, has access to the draft air quality plan or draft air quality roadmap containing the minimum information required under Annex VIII to this Directive and, where possible, a non-technical summary of the information referred to in this subparagraph.

Member States shall encourage the active involvement of all interested parties in the preparation, implementation and update of air quality plans and air quality roadmaps. Where air quality plans and air quality roadmaps are being prepared, Member States shall ensure that stakeholders whose activities contribute to the exceedance situation are encouraged to propose measures they are able to take to help end the exceedances and that non-governmental organisations, such as environmental and health organisations, consumer organisations, organisations representing the interests of sensitive population and vulnerable groups, other relevant health-care bodies, including organisations representing healthcare professionals, and the relevant industrial federations are encouraged to take part in those consultations.

8. Air quality plans and air quality roadmaps shall be communicated to the Commission within 2 months of their adoption.

Article 20

Short-term action plans

1. Where, in a given zone, there is a risk that the levels of pollutants will exceed one or more of the alert thresholds specified in Section 4 of Annex I, Member States shall establish short-term action plans indicating the emergency measures to be taken in the short term in order to reduce the risk or duration of such an exceedance.

However, where there is a risk that the alert threshold for ozone will be exceeded, Member States may refrain from establishing such short-term action plans when there is no significant potential, taking into account national geographical, meteorological and economic conditions, to reduce the risk, duration or severity of such an exceedance.

Where, for particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), the potential to reduce the risk of such an exceedance is severely limited, taking into account local geographical and meteorological conditions and specificities of domestic heating systems, Member States may establish a short-term action plan that focuses only on specific actions aiming to protect both the general public and sensitive population and vulnerable groups, as well as easily understandable information on recommended behaviour to reduce exposure to the measured or forecasted exceedance.

2. When establishing the short-term action plans referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, Member States may, depending on the individual case, provide for effective measures to control and, where necessary, temporarily suspend activities which contribute to the risk of the respective limit values or target values or alert threshold being exceeded. Member States shall also take into consideration the list of measures set out in Annex IX for their short-term action plans, and depending on the share of the main pollution sources to the exceedances to be addressed, they shall consider including, where appropriate, in those short-term action plans measures in relation to activities such as transport, construction works, industrial installations, agriculture and the use of products and domestic heating. Specific actions aiming at the protection of sensitive population and vulnerable groups, including children, shall also be considered in the framework of those plans.

3. Member States shall consult the public in accordance with Directive 2003/35/EC, and the competent authorities, which, by reason of their responsibilities in the field of air pollution and air quality, are likely to be concerned by the implementation of the short-term action plan, on draft short-term action plans and any significant updates thereof prior to their finalisation.

4. When Member States have established a short-term action plan, they shall make available to the public and to appropriate organisations such as environmental and health organisations, consumer organisations, organisations representing the interests of sensitive population and vulnerable groups, organisations representing healthcare professionals and other relevant health-care bodies and the relevant industrial federations both the results of their investigations on the feasibility and the content of specific short-term action plans as well as information on the implementation of those plans.

5. Short-term action plans shall be communicated to the Commission within 1 year of their adoption in the framework of the annual reporting pursuant to Article 23.

6. When establishing their short-term action plans indicating the emergency measures to be taken, Member States may request the Commission to organise an exchange of best practices in order to allow the requesting Member States to benefit from the experience of other Member States.

Article 21

Transboundary air pollution

1. Where transboundary transport of air pollution from one or more Member State contributes significantly to the exceedance of any limit value, ozone target value, average exposure reduction obligation or alert threshold in another Member State, that other Member State shall notify the Member States from which the air pollution originated and the Commission thereof.

2. The Member States concerned shall cooperate with each other, including by establishing joint teams of experts and with technical support from the Commission, to identify the sources of air pollution, contributions of those sources to exceedances in another Member State and the measures to be taken individually and in coordination with other Member States to address those sources, and draw up coordinated activities, such as the coordination of air quality plans pursuant to Article 19, in which each Member State shall address pollution sources located in its territory, in order to remove such exceedances.

Member States shall respond to each other in a timely manner, and inform the Commission, no later than 3 months after being notified by another Member State in accordance with the first subparagraph.

3. The Commission shall be informed of, and invited to be present or assist in any cooperation referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article. The Commission may request the Member States concerned to provide an update on progress in implementing any coordinated activities established pursuant to that paragraph. Where appropriate, the Commission shall, taking into account the reports established pursuant to Article 11 of Directive (EU) 2016/2284, consider whether further action shall be taken at Union level in order to reduce precursor emissions responsible for transboundary pollution.

4. Member States shall, where appropriate pursuant to Article 20, prepare and implement coordinated short-term action plans covering neighbouring zones in other Member States. Member States shall ensure that neighbouring zones in other Member States receive all appropriate information regarding those short-term action plans without undue delay.

5. Where the alert thresholds or information thresholds are exceeded in zones close to national borders, information on these exceedances shall be provided as soon as possible to the competent authorities in the neighbouring Member States concerned. That information shall also be made available to the public.

6. In the notification referred to in paragraph 1, Member States may, for the relevant year, identify:

(a) zones in which transboundary transport of air pollution from one or more Member States contributes significantly to the exceedances of limit values or target values in those zones;

(b) average exposure territorial units, in which transboundary transport of air pollution from one or more Member States contributes significantly to the exceedances of the level determined by the average exposure reduction obligations in those units.

A Member State may also provide the Member States concerned and the Commission with the lists of any such zones and average exposure territorial units together with information on concentrations and the evidence demonstrating that air pollution from transboundary sources, including from third countries, on which that Member State has no direct control, contributes significantly to the exceedances. The Commission may consider that information, where relevant, for the purposes of Article 18.

7. When establishing plans as provided for in paragraphs 2 and 4 and in informing the public as referred to in paragraph 5, Member States shall, where appropriate, endeavour to pursue cooperation with third countries, and in particular with candidate countries. Member States may, where appropriate, request technical support from the Commission.

CHAPTER V

INFORMATION AND REPORTING

Article 22

Public information

1. Member States shall ensure that the public as well as appropriate organisations such as environmental and health organisations, consumer organisations, organisations representing the interests of sensitive populations and vulnerable groups, organisations representing healthcare professionals and other relevant health-care bodies and the relevant industrial federations are informed, adequately and in good time, of the following:

(a) air quality in accordance with Annex X;

(b) location of sampling points for all air pollutants, as well as information on any issues in complying with data coverage requirements per sampling point and pollutant;

(d) air quality plans and air quality roadmaps as provided for in Article 19;

(e) short-term action plans established pursuant to Article 20;

(f) the effects of exceedances of limit values, target values, average exposure reduction obligations, average exposure concentration objectives, alert thresholds and information thresholds in a summary assessment; the summary assessment shall include, where appropriate, further information and assessments on the environment as well as information on pollutants covered by Article 10 and Annex VII.

2. Member States shall establish and make available through a public source, in an easily understandable manner, an air quality index covering hourly updates on at least sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

) and ozone, provided that there is an obligation to monitor those pollutants pursuant to this Directive. That index may include additional pollutants, when relevant. Insofar as possible, the air quality index shall be comparable across all Member States and follow WHO recommendations. The air quality index shall build on the air quality indices at European scale provided by the European Environment Agency and include information regarding impacts on health, including information tailored to sensitive population and vulnerable groups. Alternatively, Member States may use the air quality index provided by the European Environment Agency to meet the requirements set out in this paragraph. If a Member State decides not to use the index provided by the European Environment Agency, a reference to that index shall be made available at national level.

3. Member States shall make publicly available information on symptoms associated with air pollution peaks and on air pollution exposure reduction and protection behaviours, and shall encourage its display to the public in locations frequented by sensitive population and vulnerable groups, such as healthcare facilities.

4. Member States shall inform the public of the competent authority or body designated in relation to the tasks referred to in Article 5.

5. The information referred to in this Article shall be made available to the public free of charge by means of easily accessible media and communication channels in a coherent and easily understandable manner in accordance with Directive 2007/2/EC and Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council (22), while ensuring broad public access to that information.

Article 23

Transmission of information and reporting

1. Member States shall ensure that information on ambient air quality is made available to the Commission within the required timescale in accordance with the implementing acts referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article, and irrespective of compliance with data quality objectives for data coverage laid down in Point B of Annex V.

2. For the specific purpose of assessing compliance with the limit values, target values, average exposure reduction obligations and critical levels, the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be made available to the Commission no later than 9 months after the end of each calendar year and shall include:

(a) the changes made in that year to the list and delimitation of zones or average exposure territorial units established under Article 6;

(b) the list of zones and average exposure territorial units and the levels of pollutants assessed;

(c) for zones in which the levels of one or more pollutants are higher than the limit values, target values or critical levels, as well as for average exposure territorial units where the levels of one or more pollutants are higher than the level determined by the average exposure reduction obligations:

(i) the dates and periods when such levels were observed;

(ii) if appropriate, an assessment on contributions from natural sources and from re-suspension of particulates following winter-sanding or winter-salting of roads to the levels assessed, as provided to the Commission under Articles 16 and 17.

3. Member States shall report to the Commission in accordance with paragraph 1 information concerning the levels recorded and the duration of the periods during which the alert threshold or information threshold was exceeded.

4. Member States shall provide the information referred to in Point D of Annex IV to the Commission within 3 months of being requested to do so.

5. The Commission shall adopt, by means of implementing acts, measures:

(a) specifying the information to be made available by Member States pursuant to this Article as well as the timescales in which such information is to be communicated;

(b) identifying ways of streamlining the way data are reported and the reciprocal exchange of information and data from networks and individual sampling points measuring ambient air pollution within Member States.

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to Article 26(2).

CHAPTER VI

DELEGATED AND IMPLEMENTING ACTS

Article 24

Amendments to Annexes

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 25 amending Annexes III to VII, IX and X to take account of technical and scientific developments regarding assessment of ambient air quality, measures to be considered for inclusion in the short-term action plans and public information.

However, the amendments may not have the effect of directly or indirectly modifying either of the following:

(a) the limit values, target values, ozone long-term objectives, critical levels, alert thresholds and information thresholds, average exposure reduction obligations and average exposure concentration objectives specified in Annex I;

(b) the dates for compliance with any of the parameters referred to in point (a).

Article 25

Exercise of the delegation

1. The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

2. The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 24 shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of 5 years from 10 December 2024. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than 9 months before the end of the 5-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than 3 months before the end of each period.

3. The delegation of power referred to in Article 24 may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect the day following the publication of the decision in the

Official Journal of the European Union

or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

4. Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

5. As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 24 shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of 2 months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and to the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by 2 months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

Article 26

Committee procedure

1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Ambient Air Quality Committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

CHAPTER VII

ACCESS TO JUSTICE, COMPENSATION AND PENALTIES

Article 27

Access to justice

1. Member States shall ensure that, in accordance with their national legal system, members of the public concerned have access to a review procedure before a court of law, or another independent and impartial body established by law, to challenge the substantive or procedural legality of all decisions, acts or omissions by Member States concerning the location and number of sampling points under Article 9 in accordance with the relevant criteria laid down in Annexes III and IV, air quality plans and air quality roadmaps referred to in Article 19, and short-term action plans referred to in Article 20, of the Member State, provided that any of the following conditions is met:

(a) they have a sufficient interest;

(b) they maintain the impairment of a right, where administrative procedural law of a Member State requires this as a precondition.

Member States shall determine what constitutes a sufficient interest and impairment of a right consistently with the objective of giving the public concerned wide access to justice.

To that end, the interest of any non-governmental organisation that promotes the protection of human health or the environment and meeting any requirements under national law shall be deemed sufficient for the purposes of the first subparagraph, point (a). Such organisations shall also be deemed to have rights capable of being impaired for the purposes of the first subparagraph, point (b).

2. The review procedure shall be fair, equitable, timely and not prohibitively expensive, and shall provide adequate and effective redress mechanisms, including injunctive relief as appropriate.

3. Member States shall determine the stage at which decisions, acts or omissions may be challenged, such that access to a review procedure before a court of law or another independent and impartial body established by law, is not rendered impossible or excessively difficult.

4. This Article does not prevent Member States from requiring a preliminary review procedure before an administrative authority and does not affect the requirement of exhaustion of administrative review procedures prior to recourse to judicial review procedures, where such a requirement exists under national law.

5. Member States shall ensure that practical information is made available to the public on access to administrative and judicial review procedures referred to in this Article.

Article 28

Compensation for damage to human health

1. Member States shall ensure that natural persons who suffer damage to human health caused by a violation of the national rules transposing Article 19(1) to (5) and Article 20(1) and (2) of this Directive that has been committed intentionally or negligently by the competent authorities have the right to claim and obtain compensation for that damage.

2. Member States shall ensure that national rules and procedures relating to claims for compensation are designed and applied in such a way that they do not render impossible or excessively difficult the exercise of the right to compensation for damage pursuant to paragraph 1.

3. Member States may establish limitation periods for bringing actions for compensation as referred to in paragraph 1. Such periods shall not begin to run before the violation has ceased and the person claiming the compensation knows, or can reasonably be expected to know, that he or she suffered damage from a violation as referred to in paragraph 1.

Article 29

Penalties

1. Without prejudice to the obligations of Member States under Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (23), Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall, without undue delay, notify the Commission of those rules and of those measures and shall notify it, without undue delay, of any subsequent amendment affecting them.

2. Member States shall ensure that the penalties established pursuant to paragraph 1 give due regard to the following circumstances, as applicable:

(a) the nature, gravity, extent and duration of the infringement;

(b) the impact on the population, including sensitive population and vulnerable groups, or the environment affected by the infringement, bearing in mind the objective of achieving a high level of protection of human health and the environment;

(c) the repetitive or singular character of the infringement, including any previous receipt of an admonition penalty, or any administrative or criminal penalty;

(d) the economic benefits derived from the infringement by the natural or legal person held responsible, insofar as this can be determined.

CHAPTER VIII

TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 30

Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Articles 1 and 3, Article 4, points (2), (7), (9), (14), (15), (16), (18), (21) to (30), (33), (34) and (41) to (45), Articles 5 to 8, Article 9(1), (2), (3) and (5) to (9), Articles 10, 11 and 12, Article 13(1), (2), (3), (5), (6) and (7), Article 15, Article 16(1), (2) and (4), Article 17(4), Articles 18 to 21, Article 22(1), (2), (3) and (5), Articles 23 to 29 and Annexes I to X by 11 December 2026. They shall immediately communicate the text of those measures to the Commission.

When Member States adopt those measures, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference on the occasion of their official publication. They shall also include a statement that references in existing laws, regulations and administrative provisions to the Directives repealed by this Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made and how that statement is to be formulated.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main measures of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 31

Repeal

1. Directives 2004/107/EC and 2008/50/EC, as amended by the acts listed in Part A of Annex XI to this Directive, are repealed with effect from 12 December 2026, without prejudice to the obligations of Member States relating to the time-limits for the transposition into national law of the Directives set out in Part B of Annex XI to this Directive.

2. References to the repealed Directives shall be construed as references to this Directive and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex XII to this Directive.

Article 32

Entry into force and application

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the

Official Journal of the European Union

Article 2, Article 4, points (1), (3) to (6), (8), (10) to (13), (17), (19), (20), (31), (32) and (35) to (40), Article 9(4), Article 13(4), Article 14, Article 16(3), Article 17(1), (2) and (3) and Article 22(4) shall apply from 12 December 2026.

Article 33

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 23 October 2024.

For the European Parliament

The President

R. METSOLA

For the Council

The President

ZSIGMOND B. P.

(1)

OJ C 146, 27.4.2023, p. 46

(2)

OJ C, C/2023/251, 26.10.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2023/251/oj

(3) Position of the European Parliament of 24 April 2024 (not yet published in the Official Journal) and decision of the Council of 14 October 2024.

(4) Directive 2004/107/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2004 relating to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air (

OJ L 23, 26.1.2005, p. 3

(5) Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (

OJ L 152, 11.6.2008, p. 1

(6) Regulation (EU) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) No 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) (

OJ L 243, 9.7.2021, p. 1

(7) Decision (EU) 2022/591 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030 (

OJ L 114, 12.4.2022, p. 22

(8) Council Decision 81/462/EEC of 11 June 1981 on the conclusion of the Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution (

OJ L 171, 27.6.1981, p. 11

(9) Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the reduction of national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC (

OJ L 344, 17.12.2016, p. 1

(10) Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1102/2008 (

OJ L 137, 24.5.2017, p. 1

(11) Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise (

OJ L 189, 18.7.2002, p. 12

(12) Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial and livestock rearing emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (

OJ L 334, 17.12.2010, p. 17

(13) Judgment of the Court of Justice of 19 November 2014,

ClientEarth

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

, C-404/13, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2382, paragraph 49, and judgment of the Court of Justice of 10 November 2020,

European Commission

Italian Republic

, C-644/18, ECLI:EU:C:2020:895, paragraph 154.

(14) Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) (

OJ L 108, 25.4.2007, p. 1

(15) Judgment of the Court of Justice of 14 January 2021,

LB and Others

College van burgemeester en wethouders van de gemeente Echt-Susteren

, C–826/18, ECLI:EU:C:2021:7, paragraphs 58 and 59.

(16) Judgment of the Court of Justice of 25 July 2008,

Dieter Janecek

Freistaat Bayern

, C-237/07, ECLI:EU:C:2008:447, paragraph 42; judgment of the Court of Justice of 19 November 2014,

Client Earth

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

, C-404/13, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2382, paragraph 56; judgment of the Court of Justice of 26 June 2019,

Lies Craeynest and Others

v B

russels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest and Brussels Instituut voor Milieubeheer

, C-723/17, ECLI:EU:C:2019:533, paragraph 56; and judgment of the Court of Justice of 19 December 2019,

Deutsche Umwelthilfe eV

Freistaat Bayern

, C-752/18, ECLI:EU:C:2019:1114, paragraph 56.

(17) Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 laying down the rules and general principles concerning mechanisms for control by Member States of the Commission’s exercise of implementing powers (

OJ L 55, 28.2.2011, p. 13

(18)

OJ L 123, 12.5.2016, p. 1

(19) Council Directive 89/654/EEC of 30 November 1989 concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the workplace (first individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) (

OJ L 393, 30.12.1989, p. 1

(20) Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) (

OJ L 154, 21.6.2003, p. 1

(21) Directive 2003/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 May 2003 providing for public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Council Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC (

OJ L 156, 25.6.2003, p. 17

(22) Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information (

OJ L 172, 26.6.2019, p. 56

(23) Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the environment through criminal law (

OJ L 328, 6.12.2008, p. 28

ANNEX I

Air quality standards

Section 1 – Limit values for the protection of human health

Table 1 – Limit values for the protection of human health to be attained by 1 January 2030

Averaging period	Limit value
PM2,5
1 day	25 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 18 times per calendar year
Calendar year	10 μg/m3
PM10
1 day	45 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 18 times per calendar year
Calendar year	20 μg/m3
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
1 hour	200 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 3 times per calendar year
1 day	50 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 18 times per calendar year
Calendar year	20 μg/m3
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
1 hour	350 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 3 times per calendar year
1 day	50 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 18 times per calendar year
Calendar year	20 μg/m3
Benzene
Calendar year	3,4 μg/m3
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Maximum daily 8-hour mean(1)	10 mg/m3
1 day	4 mg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 18 times per calendar year
Lead (Pb)
Calendar year	0,5 μg/m3
Arsenic (As)
Calendar year	6,0 ng/m3
Cadmium (Cd)
Calendar year	5,0 ng/m3
Nickel (Ni)
Calendar year	20 ng/m3
Benzo(a)pyrene
Calendar year	1,0 ng/m3

Table 2 – Limit values for the protection of human health to be attained by 11 December 2026

Averaging period	Limit value
PM2,5
Calendar year	25 μg/m3
PM10
1 day	50 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 35 times per calendar year
Calendar year	40 μg/m3
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
1 hour	200 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 18 times per calendar year
Calendar year	40 μg/m3
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
1 hour	350 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 24 times per calendar year
1 day	125 μg/m3	not to be exceeded more than 3 times per calendar year
Benzene
Calendar year	5 μg/m3
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Maximum daily 8-hour mean(2)	10 mg/m3
Lead (Pb)
Calendar year	0,5 μg/m3

Table 3 – Target values for the protection of human health to be attained by 11 December 2026

Arsenic (As)
Calendar year	6,0 ng/m3
Cadmium (Cd)
Calendar year	5,0 ng/m3
Nickel (Ni)
Calendar year	20 ng/m3
Benzo(a)pyrene
Calendar year	1,0 ng/m3

Section 2 – Ozone target values and ozone long-term objectives

A. Definitions and criteria

The ‘Accumulated Ozone exposure over a Threshold of 40 parts per billion’ (AOT40), expressed in ‘(μg/m

) × hours’, means the sum of the difference between hourly concentrations greater than 80 μg/m

(= 40 parts per billion) and 80 μg/m

over a given period using only the 1-hour values measured between 8:00 and 20:00 Central European Time (CET) each day.

B. Ozone target values

Objective	Averaging period	Target value
Protection of human health	Maximum daily 8-hour mean(3)	120 μg/m3	not to be exceeded on more than 18 days per calendar year averaged over 3 years(4) (5)
Protection of vegetation	May to July	AOT40 (calculated from 1-hour values)	18 000 μg/m3 × h averaged over 5 years(4)

C. Long-term objectives for ozone (O

3 ) to be attained by 1 January 2050

Objective	Averaging period	Long-term objective
Protection of human health	Maximum daily 8-hour mean within a calendar year	100 μg/m3 not to be exceeded on more than 3 days per calendar year (99th percentile)
Protection of vegetation	May to July	AOT40 (calculated from 1 h values)	6 000 μg/m3 × h

Section 3 – Critical levels for the protection of vegetation and natural ecosystems

Averaging period	Critical level
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)
Calendar year and winter (1 October to 31 March)	20 μg/m3
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
Calendar year	30 μg/m3

Section 4 – Alert thresholds and information thresholds

A. Alert thresholds

To be measured as an hourly average over 3 consecutive hours in the case of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, and as a daily average over 3 consecutive days or less for PM

and PM

2,5

, at locations representative of air quality over at least 100 km

or an entire zone, whichever is the smaller.

To be measured over 1 hour for ozone; for the purposes of the implementation of Article 20, the exceedance of the threshold is to be measured or predicted for 3 consecutive hours.

Pollutant	Averaging period	Alert threshold
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)	1 hour	350 μg/m3
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)	1 hour	200 μg/m3
PM2,5	1 day	50 μg/m3
PM10	1 day	90 μg/m3
Ozone	1 hour	240 μg/m3

B. Information thresholds

To be measured over 1 hour in the case of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide and 1 day in the case of PM

and PM

2,5

, at locations representative of air quality over at least 100 km

or an entire zone, whichever is the smaller.

To be measured over 1 hour for ozone.

Pollutant	Averaging period	Information threshold
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)	1 hour	275 μg/m3
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)	1 hour	150 μg/m3
PM2,5	1 day	50 μg/m3
PM10	1 day	90 μg/m3
Ozone	1 hour	180 μg/m3

Section 5 – Average Exposure Reduction Obligation for PM

2,5

and NO

2 A. Average exposure indicator

The average exposure indicator (AEI) expressed in μg/m

shall be based upon measurements at all sampling points in urban background locations in average exposure territorial units throughout the territory of a Member State. It shall be assessed as a 3-calendar-year running annual mean concentration averaged over all sampling points of the relevant pollutant established pursuant to Point B of Annex III in each average exposure territorial unit. The AEI for a particular year shall be the mean concentration of that same year and the preceding 2 years.

Where Member States identify exceedances attributable to natural sources, contributions from natural sources shall be deducted before calculating the AEI.

The AEI is used for the examination of whether the average exposure reduction obligation is met.

B. Average exposure reduction obligations

As from 2030, the AEI shall not exceed a level that is:

for PM

2,5

(a) when 10 years before the AEI was < 10,0 μg/m

: 10 % lower than the AEI was 10 years before or 8,5 μg/m

, whichever is the lower, unless the AEI is already no higher than the average exposure concentration objective for PM

2,5

set out in Point C;

(b) when 10 years before the AEI was < 12,0 μg/m

and ≥ 10,0 μg/m

: 15 % lower than the AEI was 10 years before or 9,0 μg/m

, whichever is the lower;

: 25 % lower than the AEI was 10 years before;

for NO

(a) when 10 years before the AEI was < 20,0 μg/m

: 15 % lower than the AEI was 10 years before or 15,0 μg/m

, whichever is the lower, unless the AEI is already no higher than the average exposure concentration objective for NO

set out in Point C;

(b) when 10 years before the AEI was ≥ 20,0 μg/m

: 25 % lower than the AEI was 10 years before.

When calculating the levels for the years 2030, 2031 and 2032, Member States may exclude the year 2020 from the calculation of the AEI for the base year.

C. Average exposure concentration objectives

The average exposure concentration objective shall be the following level of the AEI.

Pollutant	Average exposure concentration objective
PM2,5	AEI = 5 μg/m3
NO2	AEI = 10 μg/m3

(1) The maximum daily 8-hour mean concentration shall be selected by examining 8-hour running averages, calculated from hourly data and updated each hour. Each 8-hour average so calculated shall be assigned to the day on which it ends, i.e. the first calculation period for any 1 day shall be the period from 17:00 on the previous day to 01:00 on that day; the last calculation period for any 1 day shall be the period from 16:00 to 24:00 on that day.

(2) The maximum daily 8-hour mean concentration shall be selected by examining 8-hour running averages, calculated from hourly data and updated each hour. Each 8-hour average so calculated shall be assigned to the day on which it ends, i.e. the first calculation period for any 1 day shall be the period from 17:00 on the previous day to 01:00 on that day; the last calculation period for any 1 day shall be the period from 16:00 to 24:00 on that day.

(3) The maximum daily 8-hour mean concentration shall be selected by examining 8-hour running averages, calculated from hourly data and updated each hour. Each 8-hour average so calculated shall be assigned to the day on which it ends, i.e. the first calculation period for any 1 day shall be the period from 17:00 on the previous day to 1:00 on that day; the last calculation period for any 1 day shall be the period from 16:00 to 24:00 on that day.

(4) If the 3- or 5-year averages cannot be determined on the basis of a full and consecutive set of annual data, the minimum annual data required for checking compliance with the ozone target values shall be as follows:

— for the target value for the protection of human health: valid data for 1 year,

— for the target value for the protection of vegetation: valid data for 3 years.

(5) Until 1 January 2030, 120 μg/m

not to be exceeded on more than 25 days per calendar year averaged over 3 years.

ANNEX II

Assessment thresholds

Section 1 – Assessment thresholds for health protection

Pollutant	Assessment threshold (annual mean, unless specified)
PM2,5	5 μg/m3
PM10	15 μg/m3
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)	10 μg/m3
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)	40 μg/m3 (24-hour mean)(1)
Benzene	1,7 μg/m3
Carbon monoxide (CO)	4 mg/m3 (24-hour mean)(1)
Lead (Pb)	0,25 μg/m3
Arsenic (As)	3,0 ng/m3
Cadmium (Cd)	2,5 ng/m3
Nickel (Ni)	10 ng/m3
Benzo(a)pyrene	0,30 ng/m3
Ozone (O3)	100 μg/m3 (maximum 8-hour mean)(1)

Section 2 – Assessment thresholds for the protection of vegetation and natural ecosystems

Pollutant	Assessment threshold (annual mean, unless specified)
Sulphur dioxide (SO2)	8 μg/m3 (average between 1 October and 31 March)
Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)	19,5 μg/m3

(1) 99th percentile, i.e. 3 exceedance days per year.

ANNEX III

Minimum numbers of sampling points for fixed measurement

A. Minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurement to assess compliance with limit values and target values for the protection of human health, ozone target values, long-term objectives, alert thresholds and information thresholds

1. Diffuse sources

Table 1 – Minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurement to assess compliance with limit values and target values for the protection of human health, and alert thresholds and information thresholds (for all pollutants except ozone)

Population of zone (thousands)	Minimum number of sampling points if concentrations exceed the assessment threshold
Population of zone (thousands)	NO2, SO2, CO, benzene	PM10	PM2,5	Pb, Cd, As, Ni in PM10	Benzo(a)pyrene in PM10
0 – 249	2	2	2	1	1
250 – 499	2	2	2	1	1
500 – 749	2	2	2	1	1
750 – 999	3	2	2	2	2
1 000 – 1 499	4	3	3	2	2
1 500 – 1 999	5	3	4	2	2
2 000 – 2 749	6	4	4	2	3
2 750 – 3 749	7	5	5	2	3
3 750 – 4 749	8	5	6	3	4
4 750 – 5 999	9	6	7	4	5
6 000 +	10	7	8	5	5

Table 2 – Minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurement to assess compliance with ozone target values, long-term objectives and alert thresholds and information thresholds (for ozone only)

Population of zone (thousands)	Minimum number of sampling points(1)
< 250	1
< 500	2
< 1 000	2
< 1 500	3
< 2 000	4
< 2 750	5
< 3 750	6
≥ 3 750	1 additional sampling point per 2 million inhabitants

Table 3 – Minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurement to assess compliance with limit values and target values for the protection of human health, and alert thresholds and information thresholds in zones where a 50 % reduction of such measurements applies (for all pollutants except ozone)

Population of zone (thousands)	Minimum number of sampling points if the number of sampling points is reduced by up to 50 %
Population of zone (thousands)	NO2, SO2, CO, benzene	PM10	PM2,5	Pb, Cd, As, Ni in PM10	Benzo(a)pyrene in PM10
0 – 249	1	1	1	1	1
250 – 499	1	1	1	1	1
500 – 749	1	1	1	1	1
750 – 999	2	1	1	1	1
1 000 – 1 499	2	1	2	1	1
1 500 – 1 999	3	2	2	1	1
2 000 – 2 749	3	2	2	1	2
2 750 – 3 749	4	2	3	1	2
3 750 – 4 749	4	3	3	2	2
4 750 – 5 999	5	3	4	2	3
6 000 +	5	4	4	3	3

Table 4 – Minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurements to assess compliance with ozone target values, long-term objectives and alert thresholds and information thresholds in zones where a 50 % reduction of such measurements applies (for ozone only)

Population of zone (thousands)	Minimum number of sampling points if the number of sampling points is reduced by up to 50 %(2)
< 250	1
< 500	1
< 1 000	1
< 1 500	2
< 2 000	2
< 2 750	3
< 3 750	3
≥ 3 750	1 additional sampling point per 4 million inhabitants

For each zone, the minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurements set out in Tables 1–4 of this Point shall include at least one background location sampling point and one sampling point at an air pollution hotspot according to Point B of Annex IV provided this does not increase the number of sampling points. For nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, benzene and carbon monoxide, this shall include at least one sampling point focused on measuring contribution from transport emissions. However, in the cases where there is only one sampling point required, this shall be located at an air pollution hotspot.

For each zone, for nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, benzene and carbon monoxide, the total number of urban background location sampling points and the total number of sampling points required at air pollution hotspots shall not differ by more than a factor of 2. The number of PM

2,5

and nitrogen dioxide sampling points at urban background locations shall meet the requirements set out in Point B.

2. Point sources

For the assessment of pollution in the vicinity of point sources, the number of sampling points for fixed measurement shall be calculated taking into account emission densities, the likely distribution patterns of ambient-air pollution and the potential exposure of the population. Such sampling points may be sited such that the application of BAT (Best Available Techniques) as defined in Directive 2010/75/EU can be monitored.

B. Minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurement to assess compliance with the PM

2,5

and NO

average exposure reduction obligations for the protection of human health

For each of PM

2,5

and NO

, at least one sampling point per average exposure territorial unit, and at least one sampling point per million inhabitants calculated over urban areas in excess of 100 000 inhabitants shall be operated for this purpose. Those sampling points may coincide with sampling points under Point A.

C. Minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurements to assess compliance with critical levels for SO

and NO

, and with long-term objectives for ozone

1. Critical levels for the protection of vegetation and natural ecosystems

If maximum concentrations exceed the critical levels	one sampling point every 20 000 km2
If maximum concentrations exceed the assessment threshold	one sampling point every 40 000 km2

In island zones, the number of sampling points for fixed measurement shall be calculated taking into account the likely distribution patterns of ambient air pollution and the potential exposure of vegetation.

2. Long-term objective for the protection of human health and vegetation for ozone

For rural background measurement, Member States shall ensure at least one sampling point per 50 000 km

as an average density over all zones per country. For complex terrain, one sampling point per 25 000 km

is recommended.

D. Minimum number of sampling points for fixed measurements of ultrafine particles where high concentrations are likely to occur

Ultrafine particles shall be measured at selected locations in addition to other air pollutants. Sampling points to measure ultrafine particles shall coincide, where appropriate, with sampling points for particulate matter or nitrogen dioxide referred to in Point A of this Annex, and be sited in accordance with Section 4 of Annex VII. For that purpose, at least one sampling point per 5 million inhabitants shall be established at a location where high UFP concentrations are likely to occur. Member States that have fewer than 5 million inhabitants shall establish at least one sampling point for fixed measurements at a location where high UFP concentrations are likely to occur.

For Member States with more than 2 million inhabitants, monitoring supersites at urban background or rural background locations established in accordance with Article 10 shall not be included for the purpose of meeting the requirements on the minimum number of sampling points for UFP set here.

(1) At least one sampling point in areas where exposure of the population to the highest concentrations of ozone is likely to occur. In agglomerations, at least 50 % of the sampling points shall be located in suburban areas.

(2) At least one sampling point in areas where exposure of the population to the highest concentrations of ozone is likely to occur. In agglomerations, at least 50 % of the sampling points shall be located in suburban areas.

ANNEX IV

Assessment of ambient air quality and location of sampling points

A. General

Ambient air quality shall be assessed in all zones as follows:

Ambient air quality shall be assessed at all locations except those listed in point 2.

Points B and C shall apply to the location of sampling points. The principles established by Points B and C shall also apply in so far as they are relevant in identifying the specific locations in which concentrations of the relevant pollutants are established where ambient air quality is assessed through indicative measurements or modelling applications.

Compliance with the limit values and target values directed at the protection of human health shall not be assessed at the following locations:

(a) any locations situated within areas where members of the public do not have access and there is no fixed habitation;

(b) in accordance with Article 4, point (1), on factory premises or at industrial sites to which all relevant provisions concerning health and safety at work apply;

(c) on the carriageway of roads; and on the central reservations of roads except where there is normally pedestrian or cycling access to the central reservation.

B. Macroscale siting of sampling points

1. Information

The siting of sampling points shall take into account national gridded data of emissions reported pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/2284, emission data reported under the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register and, where available, local emission inventories.

2. Protection of human health

(a) Sampling points directed at the protection of human health shall be sited in such a way as to provide reliable data on all of the following:

(i) concentration levels at air pollution hotspots within the zones;

(ii) concentration levels in other areas within the zones which are representative of the exposure of the general population, both in urban background locations and rural background locations;

(iii) for arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the deposition rates representing the indirect exposure of the population through the food chain;

(b) sampling points shall in general be sited in such a way as to avoid measuring micro-environments in the immediate vicinity of the sampling point, which means that a sampling point shall, where feasible, be sited in such a way that the air sampled is representative of air quality for a street segment no less than 100 m in length at locations measuring the contribution of road traffic, at least 25 m × 25 m at locations measuring the contribution from domestic heating, and at least 250 m × 250 m at locations measuring the contribution from industrial sites or other sources such as ports or airports;

(c) where the objective is to assess air quality at air pollution hotspots, sampling points shall be installed in the areas within zones with the highest concentrations to which the population is likely to be directly or indirectly exposed for a period which is significant in relation to the averaging period of the limit values or target values; such sampling points shall be located, where relevant and to the extent possible, in areas where sensitive population and vulnerable groups are likely to be directly or indirectly exposed for a period which is significant in relation to the averaging period of the limit values or target values, including but not limited to residential areas, schools, hospitals, assisted living facilities, or office areas;

(d) sampling points in urban background locations shall be located so that their pollution level is influenced by the integrated contribution from all relevant sources; the pollution level shall not be dominated by a single source unless such a situation is typical for a larger urban area; those sampling points shall, as a general rule, be representative for several square kilometres;

(e) sampling points in rural background locations shall be located so that their pollution level is influenced by the integrated contribution from relevant sources but not by urban areas, major roads or industrial sites in their vicinity, i.e. closer than 5 km;

(f) where the objective is to assess the contribution of road traffic, sampling points shall be located in such a way as to provide data on the streets where the highest concentrations occur, taking into consideration traffic volume (representing the largest traffic density in the zone), local dispersion conditions and spatial land use (for example, in street canyons);

(g) where the objective is to assess the contribution of domestic heating, sampling points shall be installed downwind of the main sources within the relevant predominant wind direction of those sources;

(h) where the objective is to assess the contributions of industrial sources, ports or airports, at least one sampling point shall be installed downwind of the main source within the relevant predominant wind direction in the nearest residential area; where the background concentration is not known, an additional sampling point shall be situated upwind of the main source, relative to the relevant predominant wind direction; the sampling points may be sited such that the application of BAT can be monitored;

(i) sampling points shall, where possible, also be representative of similar locations not in the immediate vicinity of the sampling points; in the zones where the level of air pollutants is above the assessment threshold, the area which each sampling point is representative of shall be clearly defined; the whole zone shall, where possible, be covered by the different areas of representativeness defined for those sampling points; concentrations in areas in a zone that are not covered by that zone’s sampling points shall be assessed with appropriate methods;

(j) account shall be taken of the need to locate sampling points on islands where that is necessary for the protection of human health;

(k) sampling points measuring arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons shall, where possible, be co-located with sampling points for PM

3. Protection of vegetation and natural ecosystems

Sampling points targeted at the protection of vegetation and natural ecosystems shall be sited more than 20 km away from urban areas or more than 5 km away from other built-up areas, industrial sites or motorways or major roads with traffic counts of more than 50 000 vehicles per day, which means that a sampling point shall be sited in such a way that the air sampled is representative of air quality in a surrounding area of at least 1 000 km

. A Member State may provide for a sampling point to be sited at a lesser distance or to be representative of air quality in a less extended area, taking account of geographical conditions or of the opportunities to protect particularly vulnerable areas.

Account shall be taken of the need to assess air quality on islands.

4. Additional criteria for ozone sampling points

The following apply to fixed and indicative measurements:

Type of sampling point	Objectives of measurement	Representativeness(1)	Macro-scale siting criteria
Urban background locations for ozone assessments	Protection of human health: to assess the exposure of the urban population to ozone, i.e. where population density and ozone concentration are relatively high and representative of the exposure of the general population.	1 to 10 km2	Away from the influence of local emissions such as traffic, petrol stations, etc.; vented locations where well mixed levels can be measured; where relevant and to the extent possible, locations frequented by sensitive population and vulnerable groups, such as schools, playgrounds, hospitals and homes for elderly; locations such as residential and commercial areas of cities, parks (away from trees), wide streets or squares with very little or no traffic, open areas characteristic of educational, sports or recreation facilities.
Suburban locations for ozone assessments	Protection of human health and vegetation: to assess the exposure of the population and vegetation located in the outskirts of the urban area, with the highest ozone levels to which the population and vegetation are likely to be directly or indirectly exposed.	10 to 100 km2	At a certain distance from the area of maximum emissions, downwind following the main wind direction/directions during conditions favourable to ozone formation; where population, sensitive crops or natural ecosystems located in the outer fringe of an urban area are exposed to high ozone levels; where appropriate, some suburban sampling points also upwind of the area of maximum emissions, in order to determine the regional background levels of ozone.
Rural locations for ozone assessments	Protection of human health and vegetation: to assess the exposure of population, crops and natural ecosystems to sub-regional scale ozone concentrations.	Sub-regional levels (100 to 1 000 km2)	Sampling points may be located in small settlements or areas with natural ecosystems, forests or crops; representative for ozone away from the influence of immediate local emissions such as industrial sites and roads; at open area sites.
Rural background locations for ozone assessments	Protection of human health and vegetation: to assess the exposure of crops and natural ecosystems to regional-scale ozone concentrations as well as exposure of the population.	Regional/national/continental levels (1 000 to 10 000 km2)	Sampling points located in areas with lower population density, e.g. with natural ecosystems, forests, at a distance of at least 20 km from urban and industrial areas and away from local emissions; avoid locations which are subject to locally enhanced formation of ground-near inversion conditions; coastal sites with pronounced diurnal wind cycles of local character are not recommended.

The locations of sampling points for rural locations and rural background locations for ozone assessment shall, where appropriate, be coordinated with the monitoring requirements of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1737/2006 (2).

5. Criteria for determining the spatial representativeness area of sampling points

When determining the spatial representativeness area, the following characteristics shall be considered:

(a) the geographical area may include non-contiguous domains but shall be limited in its extension by the borders of the zone under consideration;

(b) if assessed via modelling applications, a fit-for-purpose modelling system shall be used and modelled concentrations shall be used at location of the sampling point to prevent systematic model-measurement biases from distorting the assessment;

(d) the tolerance levels and possible cut-offs for the different pollutants may vary depending on the characteristics of the sampling point;

(e) the annual average of the observed pollutant concentration shall be used as the air quality metric for a specific year.

C. Micro-scale siting of sampling points

Insofar as it is practicable, the following shall apply:

(a) the flow around the sampling point inlet shall be unrestricted (in general free in an arc of at least 270

, or, for sampling points at the building line, of at least 180

) without any obstructions affecting the airflow in the vicinity of the inlet (at least 1,5 m away from buildings, balconies, trees and other obstacles, and at least 0,5 m from the nearest building in the case of sampling points representing air quality at the building line);

(b) in general, the sampling point inlet shall be between 0,5 m (the breathing zone) and 4 m above the ground; higher siting may also be appropriate if the sampling point is located in a background location; the decision to apply such higher siting shall be fully documented;

(c) the inlet probe shall not be positioned in the immediate vicinity of sources in order to avoid the direct intake of emissions unmixed with ambient air to which members of the public are unlikely to be exposed;

(d) the sampler’s exhaust outlet shall be positioned so that recirculation of exhaust air to the sampler inlet is avoided;

(e) for all pollutants, sampling probes focused on measuring contributions from road traffic shall be at least 25 m from the edge of major junctions and no more than 10 m from the kerbside; for the purposes of this point, a ‘kerbside’ means the line that separates motorised traffic from other areas; a ‘major junction’ means a junction which interrupts the traffic flow and causes different emissions (stop&go) from the rest of the road;

(f) for the deposition measurements in background locations, the guidelines and criteria of EMEP shall apply;

(g) for ozone measurement, Member States shall ensure that the sampling point is positioned well away from sources such as furnaces and incineration flues, and more than 10 m from the nearest road, with distance increasing as a function of traffic intensity;

(h) the following factors may also be taken into account:

(i) interfering sources;

(ii) security;

(iii) access;

(iv) availability of electrical power and telephone communications;

(v) visibility of the site in relation to its surroundings;

(vi) safety of the public and operators;

(vii) the desirability of co-locating sampling points for different pollutants;

(viii)

planning requirements.

D. Site selection, its review and documentation

The competent authorities responsible for air quality assessment shall for all zones fully document the site-selection procedures and record information to support the network design and choice of location for all monitoring sites. The design of the monitoring network shall be supported at least by either modelling applications or indicative measurements.

The documentation shall include the location of the sampling points through spatial coordinates, detailed maps and compass point photographs of the area surrounding monitoring sites, and shall include information on the spatial representativeness of all sampling points.

The documentation shall include evidence as regards reasons for the network design and demonstrating compliance with Points B and C, in particular:

(a) justification for the selection of locations representative of the highest levels of pollution in the zone or agglomeration for each pollutant;

(b) reasons for selection of locations representative of the general exposure of population; and

(c) any deviation from the micro-scale siting criteria, their underlying reasons and the likely impact on measured levels.

Where indicative measurements, modelling applications or objective estimation, or a combination thereof are used within a zone, the documentation shall include details of those methods and information on how the conditions set out in Article 9(3) are met.

Where indicative measurements, modelling applications or objective estimation are used, competent authorities shall use gridded data reported pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/2284, emission information reported under Directive 2010/75/EU and, where available, local emission inventories.

For ozone measurements, Member States shall apply proper screening and interpretation of the monitoring data in the context of the meteorological and photochemical processes affecting the ozone concentrations measured at the respective sites.

Where applicable, the list of ozone precursors substances, the objective sought for measuring them and the methods used to sample and measure them shall be part of the documentation.

Where applicable, information of the measurement methods used for the measurement of the chemical composition of PM

2,5

shall also be part of the documentation.

At least every 5 years the selection criteria, network design and monitoring site locations, defined by the competent authorities in view of the requirements of this Annex, shall be reviewed to ensure they remain valid and optimal overtime. The review shall be supported at least by either modelling applications or indicative measurements. Where such a review finds that the network design and monitoring site locations are no longer valid, the competent authority shall update them as soon as possible.

10.

The documentation shall be updated following every review and other relevant changes to the monitoring network, and shall be made public through appropriate communication channels.

(1) Sampling points shall, where possible, be representative of similar locations not in the immediate vicinity of the sampling points.

(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1737/2006 of 7 November 2006 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 2152/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning monitoring of forests and environmental interactions in the Community (

OJ L 334, 30.11.2006, p. 1

ANNEX V

Data quality objectives

A. Uncertainty of measurements and modelling applications for ambient air quality assessment

Table 1 – Uncertainty for measurement and modelling of long-term (annual) mean concentrations

Air pollutant	Maximum uncertainty of fixed measurements		Maximum uncertainty of indicative measurements(1)		Maximum ratio of uncertainty of modelling applications and objective estimation over uncertainty of fixed measurements
Air pollutant	Absolute value	Relative value	Absolute value	Relative value	Maximum ratio
PM2,5	3,0 μg/m3	30 %	4,0 μg/m3	40 %	1,7
PM10	4,0 μg/m3	20 %	6,0 μg/m3	30 %	1,3
SO2 / NO2 / NOx	6,0 μg/m3	30 %	8,0 μg/m3	40 %	1,4
Benzene	0,85 μg/m3	25 %	1,2 μg/m3	35 %	1,7
Lead	0,125 μg/m3	25 %	0,175 μg/m3	35 %	1,7
Arsenic	2,4 ng/m3	40 %	3,0 ng/m3	50 %	1,1
Cadmium	2,0 ng/m3	40 %	2,5 ng/m3	50 %	1,1
Nickel	8,0 ng/m3	40 %	10,0 ng/m3	50 %	1,1
Benzo(a)pyrene	0,5 ng/m3	50 %	0,6 ng/m3	60 %	1,1

Table 2 – Uncertainty for measurement and modelling of short-term (24-hour, 8-hour and hourly) mean concentrations

Air pollutant	Maximum uncertainty of fixed measurements		Maximum uncertainty of indicative measurements(2)		Maximum ratio of uncertainty of modelling applications and objective estimation over uncertainty of fixed measurements
Air pollutant	Absolute value	Relative value	Absolute value	Relative value	Maximum ratio
PM2,5 (24-hour)	6,3 μg/m3	25 %	8,8 μg/m3	35 %	2,5
PM10 (24-hour)	11,3 μg/m3	25 %	22,5 μg/m3	50 %	2,2
NO2 (24-hour)	7,5 μg/m3	15 %	12,5 μg/m3	25 %	3,2
NO2 (hourly)	30 μg/m3	15 %	50 μg/m3	25 %	3,2
SO2 (24-hour)	7,5 μg/m3	15 %	12,5 μg/m3	25 %	3,2
SO2 (hourly)	52,5 μg/m3	15 %	87,5 μg/m3	25 %	3,2
CO (24-hour)	0,6 mg/m3	15 %	1,0 mg/m3	25 %	3,2
CO (8-hour)	1,0 mg/m3	10 %	2,0 mg/m3	20 %	4,9
Ozone (8-hour mean)	18 μg/m3	15 %	30 μg/m3	25 %	2,2

When assessing compliance with the data quality objectives in Tables 1 and 2 of this Point, the uncertainty for measurements (expressed at a 95 % confidence level) of the assessment methods shall be calculated in line with the respective EN standard of each pollutant. For methods where no standard is available, the uncertainty of the assessment method shall be evaluated in accordance with the principles of the Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM) 100:2008 ‘Evaluation of measurement data – Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement’ and the methodology in Part 5 of ISO 5725:1998. For indicative measurements, in the absence of a relevant EN standard, uncertainty shall be calculated according to the guidance on the demonstration of equivalence referred to in Point B of Annex VI.

The percentages for uncertainty in Tables 1 and 2 of this Point apply for all limit values and target values that are calculated by simple averaging of individual measurements such as hourly mean, daily mean or yearly mean values without considering the additional uncertainty for the calculation of the number of exceedances. The uncertainty shall be interpreted as being applicable in the region of the appropriate limit values or target values. The uncertainty calculation does not apply to AOT40 and values that include more than 1 year, more than one sampling point (e.g. AEI) or more than one component. They are also not applicable for alert thresholds, information thresholds and critical levels for the protection of vegetation and natural ecosystems.

Before 2030, the relative values for maximum uncertainties in Tables 1 and 2 shall apply for all pollutants, except PM

2,5

and NO

/NO

in Table 1, for which the maximum uncertainties of fixed measurements shall be 25 % and 15 %, respectively. From 2030, the uncertainty of measurement data used for ambient air quality assessment shall not exceed the absolute value or the relative value, whichever is higher, expressed in this Point.

The maximum uncertainty of modelling applications is set to the uncertainty for fixed measurements multiplied by the applicable maximum ratio. The modelling quality objective (i.e. a modelling quality indicator less or equal to 1) shall be verified at least at 90 % of the available sampling points, over the assessment area and period considered. At a given sampling point, the modelling quality indicator shall be calculated as the ratio of the root mean square error(s) between modelling results and measurements over the square root of the quadratic sum(s) of the modelling application and measurement uncertainties, over an entire assessment period. Note that the sum will reduce to a single value when annual means are considered. All fixed measurements that meet the data quality objectives (i.e. uncertainty of measurement and data coverage of measurement as specified in this Point and Point B, respectively) located in the modelling application assessment area shall be used for the evaluation of uncertainty of the modelling application. Note that the maximum ratio shall be interpreted as being applicable over the entire concentration range.

For short-term mean concentrations, the maximum uncertainty of measurement data used to assess the modelling quality objective shall be the absolute uncertainty calculated using the relative value expressed in this Point, above the limit value and shall decrease linearly from the absolute value at the limit value, to a threshold at zero concentration (3). Both the short-term and long-term modelling quality objectives shall be fulfilled.

For modelling of annual mean concentrations of benzene, arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene, the maximum uncertainty of measurement data used for assessing the modelling quality objective shall not exceed the relative value expressed in this Point.

For modelling of annual mean concentrations of PM

, PM

2,5

and nitrogen dioxide, the maximum uncertainty of measurement data used for assessing the modelling quality objective shall not exceed either the absolute value or the relative value expressed in this Point.

Where an air quality model is used for assessment, references to descriptions of the modelling application and information on the calculation of the modelling quality objective shall be compiled.

The uncertainty of objective estimation shall not exceed the uncertainty for indicative measurements by more than the applicable maximum ratio and shall not exceed 85 %. The uncertainty for objective estimation is defined as the maximum deviation of the measured and calculated concentration levels, over the period considered, by the limit value or target value, without taking into account the timing of the events.

B. Data coverage of measurements for ambient air quality assessment

‘Data coverage’ refers to the proportion of the calendar year for which valid measurement data are available, expressed as a percentage.

Air pollutant	Minimum data coverage
	Fixed measurements(4)		Indicative measurements(5)
	Annual means	1-hour, 8-hour or 24-hour means	Annual means	1-hour, 8-hour or 24-hour means
SO2, NO2, NOx, CO	85 %	85 %	13 %	50 %
O3 and related NO and NO2	85 %	85 %	13 %	50 %
PM10, PM2,5	85 %	85 %	13 %	50 %
Benzene	85 %	—	13 %	—
Benzo(a)pyrene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), total gaseous mercury, particulate and gaseous divalent mercury	30 %	—	13 %	—
As, Cd, Ni, Pb	45 %	—	13 %	—
BC, ammonia, UFP, size distribution of UFP	80 %	—	13 %	—
Nitric acid, levoglucosan, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), chemical composition of PM2,5, PM oxidative potential	45 %	—	13 %	—
Total Deposition	—	—	30 %	—

Fixed measurements of SO

, NO

, CO, O

, PM

2,5

and benzene are to be carried out continuously during the full calendar year.

For the other cases, measurements are to be evenly distributed over the calendar year (or over the April to September period for indicative measurements of O

). In order to comply with those requirements and to ensure that any potential losses of data do not skew results, the minimum data coverage requirements shall be met for specific periods (quarter, month, weekday) of the whole year depending on the pollutant and measurement method or measurement frequency.

For the assessment of annual mean values via indicative measurements and, via fixed measurements for pollutants with a minimum data coverage below 80 %, Member States may apply random measurements instead of continuous measurements if they can demonstrate that the uncertainty, including the uncertainty due to random sampling, meets the required data quality objectives and minimum data coverage for indicative measurements. Such random sampling shall be evenly distributed over the year in order to avoid skewing of results. The uncertainty due to random sampling may be determined by the procedure laid down in ISO 11222 (2002) ‘Air Quality – Determination of the Uncertainty of the Time Average of Air Quality Measurements’.

Normal maintenance of instrumentation shall not take place during pollution peak periods.

Minimum 24-hour sampling is required for the measurement of benzo(a)pyrene and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Individual samples taken over a period of up to 1 month may be combined and analysed as a composite sample, provided the method ensures that the samples are stable for that period. The three congeners benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(j)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene can be difficult to resolve analytically. In such cases, they can be reported as a sum together. Sampling shall be spread evenly over the weekdays and the year. For the measurement of deposition rates, monthly or weekly samples throughout the year are recommended.

Furthermore, those provisions on individual samples shall also apply to arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel and total gaseous mercury. Moreover, subsampling of PM

filters for metals for subsequent analysis is allowed, providing there is evidence that the subsample is representative of the whole and that the detection sensitivity is not compromised when compared with the relevant data quality objectives. As an alternative to daily sampling, weekly sampling for metals in PM

is allowed provided that the collection characteristics are not compromised.

For total deposition, Member States may use wet-only sampling, instead of bulk sampling, if they can demonstrate that the difference between them is within 10 %. Deposition rates shall generally be given as μg/m

per day.

C. Criteria for aggregation of data for ambient air quality assessment

The following criteria shall be used for checking validity when aggregating data in order to calculate statistical parameters:

Parameter	Required proportion of valid data
1-hour means	75 % (i.e. 45 minutes)
8-hour means	75 % of values (i.e. 6 hours)
24-hour means	75 % of the 1-hour means (i.e. at least 18 hourly values during the day)
Maximum daily 8-hour mean	75 % of the hourly running 8-hour means (i.e. at least 18 eight-hour values during the day)

D. Methods for assessing compliance and estimating statistical parameters to account for low data coverage or significant data losses

An assessment of compliance with the relevant limit values and target values shall be carried out regardless of whether the data quality objectives for data coverage are achieved, provided the available data allows for a conclusive assessment. In cases relating to the short-term limit values and target values, measurements that only cover a fraction of the calendar year, and that have not delivered sufficient valid data as required by Point B, may still constitute non-compliance. Where this is the case, and there are no clear grounds to doubt the quality of the valid data acquired, this shall be considered an exceedance of the limit value or target value and be reported as such.

E. Results of air quality assessment

The following information shall be compiled for zones where air quality modelling applications or objective estimation are used:

(a) a description of assessment activities carried out;

(b) the specific methods used, with references to descriptions of the method;

(d) a description of results, including uncertainties and, in particular, the extent of any area or, if relevant, the length of road within the zone over which concentrations exceed any limit value, target value or long-term objective, and of any area within which concentrations exceed the assessment threshold;

(e) the population potentially exposed to levels in excess of any limit value for protection of human health.

F. Quality assurance for ambient air quality assessment; data validation

To ensure accuracy of measurements and compliance with the data quality objectives laid down in Point A of this Annex, the appropriate competent authorities and bodies designated pursuant to Article 5 shall ensure the following:

(a) that all measurements undertaken in relation to the assessment of ambient air quality pursuant to Article 8 are traceable in accordance with the requirements set out in the harmonised standard for testing and calibration laboratories;

(b) that institutions operating networks and individual sampling points have an established quality assurance and quality control system which provides for regular maintenance and technical checks to assure the continued accuracy of measuring devices and that they remain operational; the quality system shall be reviewed as necessary and at least every 5 years by the relevant national reference laboratory;

(c) that a quality assurance/quality control process is established for the process of data collection and reporting and that organisations appointed for this task actively participate in the related Union-wide quality assurance programmes;

(d) that the national reference laboratories are appointed by the appropriate competent authority or body designated pursuant to Article 5 of this Directive and are accredited for the reference methods referred to in Annex VI to this Directive, at least for those pollutants for which concentrations are above the assessment threshold, according to the relevant harmonised standard for testing and calibration laboratories, the reference to which has been published in the

Official Journal of the European Union

pursuant to Article 2, point 9, of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance; those laboratories shall also be responsible for the coordination in Member State’s territory of the Union-wide quality assurance programmes to be organised by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and shall also be responsible for coordinating, at national level, the appropriate use of reference methods, and the demonstration of equivalence of non-reference methods; national reference laboratories organising intercomparison at national level shall also be accredited according to the relevant harmonised standard for proficiency testing;

(e) that the national reference laboratories take part at least every 3 years in the Union-wide quality assurance programmes organised by the JRC for at least those pollutants for which concentrations are above the assessment threshold; participation for other pollutants is recommended; if that participation produces unsatisfactory results, then the national laboratory shall demonstrate at the next participation in the intercomparison satisfactory remediation measures, and provide a report to the JRC on these measures;

(f) that the national reference laboratories support the work done by the European network of National Reference Laboratories set up by the JRC;

(g) that the European network of National Reference Laboratories be responsible for the periodic review, at least every 5 years, of the measurement uncertainties of fixed measurements and of indicative measurements listed in Point A, Tables 1 and 2, of this Annex and subsequent proposal of any necessary changes to the Commission.

All reported data under Article 23 shall be deemed to be valid except data flagged as provisional.

G. Promotion of harmonised air quality modelling approaches

To promote and support the harmonised use of scientifically sound air quality modelling approaches by the competent authorities with an emphasis on model application, the appropriate competent authorities and bodies designated pursuant to Article 5 shall ensure the following:

(a) that the designated reference institutions participate in the European network of air quality modelling set up by the JRC;

(b) that best practices in air quality modelling identified by the network through scientific consensus are adopted in relevant applications of air quality modelling for the purposes of fulfilling legal requirements pursuant to Union legislation, without prejudice to model adaptations necessitated by singular circumstances;

(c) that the quality of relevant applications of air quality modelling is periodically checked and improved through intercomparison exercises organised by the JRC;

(d) that the European network of air quality modelling be responsible for the periodic review, at least every 5 years, of the maximum ratio of modelling uncertainties listed in Point A, Tables 1 and 2, of this Annex and subsequent proposal of any necessary changes to the Commission.

(1) When using indicative measurements for purposes other than compliance assessment, such as, but not only: design or review of the monitoring network, calibration and validation of modelling applications, the uncertainty may be that established for modelling applications.

(2) When using indicative measurements for purposes other than compliance assessment, such as, but not only: design or review of the monitoring network, calibration and validation of modelling applications, the uncertainty may be that established for modelling applications.

(3) The threshold shall be set to 4, 3, 10, 3 and 5 μg/m

for PM

, PM

2,5

, O

, NO

and SO

, respectively, and 0,5 mg/m

for CO. These values represent the state of knowledge and shall be regularly updated at least every 5 years, to reflect developments in the state of the art.

(4) For O

, minimum data coverage requirements are to be met both for the full calendar year, and for the periods of April to September, and October to March, respectively.

Assessment of the AOT40 for ozone minimum data coverage requirements are to be met during the time period defined for calculating the AOT40 value.

(5) For O

, minimum data coverage applies for the period of April to September (no criterium of minimum data coverage is required during the winter period).

(6) Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 setting out the requirements for accreditation and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93 (

OJ L 218, 13.8.2008, p. 30

ANNEX VI

Reference methods for assessment of concentrations in ambient air and deposition rates

A. Reference methods for the assessment of concentrations of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), benzene, carbon monoxide, arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ozone and other pollutants in ambient air and deposition rates

Reference method for the measurement of sulphur dioxide in ambient air

The reference method for the measurement of sulphur dioxide in ambient air is that described in EN 14212:2012 ‘Ambient air – Standard method for the measurement of the concentration of sulphur dioxide by ultraviolet fluorescence’.

Reference method for the measurement of nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen in ambient air

The reference method for the measurement of nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen in ambient air is that described in EN 14211:2012 ‘Ambient air – Standard method for the measurement of the concentration of nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen monoxide by chemiluminescence’.

Reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM

in ambient air

The reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM

in ambient air is that described in EN 12341:2023 ‘Ambient Air – Standard gravimetric measurement method for the determination of the PM

or PM

2,5

mass concentration of suspended particulate matter’.

Reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM

2,5

in ambient air

The reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM

2,5

in ambient air is that described in EN 12341:2023 ‘Ambient Air – Standard gravimetric measurement method for the determination of the PM

or PM

2,5

mass concentration of suspended particulate matter’.

Reference method for the sampling and measurement of arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel in ambient air

The reference method for the sampling of arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel in ambient air is that described in EN 12341:2023 ‘Ambient Air – Standard gravimetric measurement method for the determination of the PM

or PM

2,5

mass concentration of suspended particulate matter’. The reference method for the measurement of arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel in ambient air is that described in EN 14902:2005 ‘Ambient air quality – Standard method for measurement of Pb, Cd, As and Ni in the PM

fraction of suspended particulate matter’.

Reference method for the sampling and measurement of benzene in ambient air

The reference method for the sampling and measurement of benzene in ambient air is that described in EN 14662, parts 1 (2005), 2 (2005) and 3 (2016) ‘Ambient air quality – Standard method for measurement of benzene concentrations’.

Reference method for the measurement of carbon monoxide in ambient air

The reference method for the measurement of carbon monoxide in ambient air is that described in EN 14626:2012 ‘Ambient air – Standard method for the measurement of the concentration of carbon monoxide by non-dispersive infrared spectroscopy’.

Reference method for the sampling and measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air

The reference method for the sampling of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air is that described in EN 12341:2023 ‘Ambient Air – Standard gravimetric measurement method for the determination of the PM

or PM

2,5

mass concentration of suspended particulate matter’. The reference method for the measurement of benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air is that described in EN 15549:2008 ‘Air quality – Standard method for the measurement of concentration of benzo[a]pyrene in ambient air’. In the absence of an EN standard method for the other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons referred to in Article 9(8), Member States are allowed to use national standard methods or ISO methods such as ISO standard 12884.

Reference method for the sampling and measurement of total gaseous mercury in ambient air

The reference method for the measurement of total gaseous mercury concentrations in ambient air is that described in EN 15852:2010 ‘Ambient air quality – Standard method for the determination of total gaseous mercury’.

10.

Reference method for the sampling and analysis of the deposition of arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The reference method for the determination of the deposition of arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel is that described in EN 15841:2009 ‘Ambient air quality – Standard method for determination of arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel in atmospheric deposition’.

The reference method for the determination of the deposition of mercury is that described in EN 15853:2010 ‘Ambient air quality – Standard method for determination of mercury deposition’.

The reference method for the determination of the deposition of benzo(a)pyrene and the other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons referred to in Article 9(8) is that described in EN 15980:2011 ‘Air quality – Determination of the deposition of benz[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[j]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene’.

11.

Reference method for the measurement of ozone in ambient air

The reference method for the measurement of ozone in ambient air is that described in EN 14625:2012 ‘Ambient air – Standard method for the measurement of the concentration of ozone by ultraviolet photometry’.

12.

Reference method for the sampling and measurement of elemental carbon and organic carbon in ambient air

The reference method for the sampling of elemental carbon and organic carbon in ambient air is that described in EN 12341:2023 ‘Ambient Air – Standard gravimetric measurement method for the determination of the PM

or PM

2,5

mass concentration of suspended particulate matter’. The reference method for the measurement of elemental carbon and organic carbon in ambient air is that described in EN 16909:2017 ‘Ambient air – Measurement of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) collected on filters’.

13.

Reference method for the sampling and measurement of NO

- , SO

, Cl

- , NH

, Na

, K

, Mg

, Ca

in PM

2,5

in ambient air

The reference method for the sampling of NO

- , SO

, Cl

- , NH

, Na

, K

, Mg

, Ca

in PM

2,5

in ambient air is that described in EN 12341:2023 ‘Ambient Air – Standard gravimetric measurement method for the determination of the PM

or PM

2,5

mass concentration of suspended particulate matter’. The reference method for the measurement of NO

- , SO

, Cl

- , NH

, Na

, K

, Mg

, Ca

in PM

2,5

in ambient air is that described in EN 16913:2017 ‘Ambient air – Standard method for measurement of NO

- , SO

, Cl

- , NH

, Na

, K

, Mg

, Ca

in PM

2,5

as deposited on filters’.

14.

Methods for the sampling and measurement of volatile organic compounds that are ozone precursor substances, methane, UFP, BC, size distribution of ultrafine particles, ammonia, particulate and gaseous divalent mercury, nitric acid, levoglucosan and oxidative potential of particulate matter

In the absence of an EN standard method for sampling and measuring volatile organic compounds that are ozone precursor substances, methane, UFP, BC, size distribution of ultrafine particles, ammonia, particulate and gaseous divalent mercury, nitric acid, levoglucosan and oxidative potential of particulate matter, Member States may choose the sampling and measuring methods they use, in accordance with Annex V and taking into account the measurement objectives, including those set out in Section 3, Point A, and Section 4, Point A, of Annex VII, as applicable. Where international, EN or national standard reference measurement methods or CEN technical specifications are available, these may be used.

B. Demonstration of equivalence

A Member State may use any other method which it can demonstrate gives results equivalent to any of the reference methods referred to in Point A of this Annex or, in the case of particulate matter, any other method which the Member State concerned can demonstrate displays a consistent relationship to the reference method, such as an automatic measurement method that meets the requirements in standard EN 16450:2017 ‘Ambient air – Automated measuring systems for the measurement of the concentration of particulate matter (PM

; PM

2,5

)’. In that event, the results achieved by such other method shall be corrected to produce results equivalent to those that would have been achieved by using the reference method.

The Commission may require Member States to prepare and submit a report on the demonstration of equivalence in accordance with point 1.

When assessing the acceptability of the report referred to in point 2, the Commission shall refer to its guidance on the demonstration of equivalence. Where Member States have been using interim factors to approximate equivalence, approximate equivalence shall be confirmed or amended with reference to that guidance.

Member States shall ensure that whenever appropriate, the correction is also applied retroactively to past measurement data in order to achieve better data comparability.

C. Standardisation

For gaseous pollutants, the volume shall be standardised at a temperature of 293 K and an atmospheric pressure of 101,3 kPa. For particulate matter and substances to be analysed in particulate matter (including arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene), the sampling volume refers to ambient conditions in terms of temperature and atmospheric pressure at the date of measurements.

D. Mutual recognition of data

When demonstrating that equipment meets the performance requirements of the reference methods listed in Point A of this Annex, the competent authorities and bodies designated pursuant to Article 5 shall accept test reports issued in other Member States provided that the test laboratories are accredited by the relevant harmonised standard for testing and calibration laboratories.

The detailed test reports and all the results of the tests shall be available to other competent authorities or their designated bodies. Test reports shall demonstrate that the equipment meets all the performance requirements, including where some environmental and site conditions are specific to a Member State and are outside the conditions for which the equipment has been already tested and type approved in another Member State.

E. Reference air quality modelling applications

In the absence of an EN standard on modelling quality objectives, Member States may choose the modelling applications they use, in accordance with Point F of Annex V.

ANNEX VII

Measurements at monitoring supersites and of mass concentration, chemical composition of PM

2,5

, ozone precursor substances and ultrafine particles

Section 1 – Measurements of pollutants at monitoring supersites

Measurements at all monitoring supersites at urban background locations and rural background locations shall include the pollutants listed in Tables 1 and 2, respectively.

Table 1 – Pollutants to be measured at monitoring supersites at urban background locations

Pollutant	Type of measurement
PM10, PM2,5, UFP, BC	Fixed measurements
NO2, O3	Fixed measurements
SO2, CO	Fixed or indicative measurements
Size distribution of UFP	Fixed or indicative measurements
Benzo(a)pyrene, other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as relevant(1)	Fixed or indicative measurements
Total deposition(2) of benzo(a)pyrene, and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as relevant	Fixed or indicative measurements
Arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel	Fixed or indicative measurements
Total deposition(2) of arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel and mercury	Fixed or indicative measurements
Benzene	Fixed or indicative measurements
Chemical composition of PM2,5 in accordance with Section 2	Fixed or indicative measurements

Table 2 – Pollutants to be measured at monitoring supersites at rural background locations

Pollutant	Type of measurement
PM10, PM2,5, UFP, BC	Fixed measurements
NO2, O3 and ammonia	Fixed measurements
SO2, CO	Fixed or indicative measurements
Total deposition of benzo(a)pyrene and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as relevant	Fixed or indicative measurements
Total deposition of arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel and mercury	Fixed or indicative measurements
Benzo(a)pyrene, other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as relevant(3)	Fixed or indicative measurements
Arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel	Fixed or indicative measurements
Chemical composition of PM2,5 in accordance with Section 2	Fixed or indicative measurements
Total gaseous mercury	Fixed or indicative measurements

Table 3 – Pollutants recommended to be measured at monitoring supersites at urban background locations and rural background locations if not covered by the requirements of Tables 1 and 2

Pollutant	Type of measurement
Size distribution of UFP	Fixed or indicative measurements
Particulate matter oxidative potential	Fixed or indicative measurements
Ammonia	Fixed or indicative measurements
Levoglucosan to be measured as part of the chemical composition of PM2,5	Fixed or indicative measurements
Total gaseous mercury	Fixed or indicative measurements
Particulate and gaseous divalent mercury	Fixed or indicative measurements
Nitric acid	Fixed or indicative measurements

Section 2 – Measurements of mass concentration and chemical composition of PM

2,5

A. Objectives

The main objectives of such measurements are to ensure that adequate information is made available on levels in urban background locations and rural background locations. That information is essential to judge the enhanced levels in more polluted areas (such as urban background locations, air pollution hotspots, industry related locations or traffic related locations), assess the possible contribution from long-range transport of pollutants, support source apportionment analysis and for the understanding of specific pollutants such as particulate matter. It is also essential for the increased use of modelling applications also in urban areas.

B. Substances

Measurement of PM

2,5

shall include at least the total mass concentration and concentrations of appropriate compounds to characterise its chemical composition. At least the list of chemical species given below shall be included.

SO4 2–	Na+	NH4 +	Ca2+	elemental carbon (EC)
NO3–	K+	Cl–	Mg2+	organic carbon (OC)

C. Siting

Measurements shall be taken in urban background locations and rural background locations in accordance with Annex IV.

Section 3 – Measurements of ozone precursor substances

A. Objectives

The main objectives of measurements of ozone precursor substances are to analyse any trend in ozone precursors, to check the efficiency of emission reduction strategies, to check the consistency of emission inventories, to support the understanding of ozone formation and precursor dispersion processes, as well as the application of photochemical models, and to help attribute emission sources to observed pollution concentrations.

B. Substances

Measurement of ozone precursor substances shall include at least nitrogen oxides (NO and NO

), and, as appropriate, methane (CH

) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The selection of the specific compounds to be measured shall depend on the objective sought and may be complemented by other compounds of interest. Member States may use the method which they consider suitable for the objective sought. The reference method as specified under Annex VI applies for nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen.

A list of VOC recommended for measurement is given below:

Chemical family	Substance
Chemical family	Trivial name	IUPAC name	Formula	CAS number
Alcohols	Methanol	Methanol	CH4O	67-56-1
Alcohols	Ethanol	Ethanol	C2H6O	64-17-5
Aldehyde	Formaldehyde	Methanal	CH2O	50-00-0
	Acetaldehyde	Ethanal	C2H4O	75-07-0
	Methacrolein	2-Methylprop-2-enal	C4H6O	78-85-3
Alkynes	Acetylene	Ethyne	C2H2	74-86-2
Alkanes	Ethane	Ethane	C2H6	74-84-0
	Propane	Propane	C3H8	74-98-6
	n-Butane	Butane	C4H10	106-97-8
	i-Butane	2-Methylpropane	C4H10	75-28-5
	n-Pentane	Pentane	C5H12	109-66-0
	i-Pentane	2-Methylbutane	C5H12	78-78-4
	n-Hexane	Hexane	C6H14	110-54-3
	i-Hexane	2-Methylpentane	C6H14	107-83-5
	n-Heptane	Heptane	C7H16	142-82-5
	n-Octane	Octane	C8H18	111-65-9
	i-Octane	2,2,4-Trimethylpentane	C8H18	540-84-1
Alkenes	Ethylene	Ethene	C2H4	75-21-8
	Propene / Propylene	Propene	C3H6	115-07-1
	1,3-Butadiene	Buta-1,3-diene	C4H6	106-99-0
	1-Butene	But-1-ene	C4H8	106-98-9
	Trans-2-Butene	(E)-but-2-ene	C4H8	624-64-6
	cis-2-Butene	(Z)-but-2-ene	C4H8	590-18-1
	1-Pentene	Pent-1-ene	C5H10	109-67-1
	2-Pentene	(Z)-Pent-2-ene	C5H10	627-20-3 (cis-2 pentene)
	2-Pentene	(E)-Pent-2-ene	C5H10	646-04-8 (trans-2 pentene)
Aromatic hydrocarbons	Benzene	Benzene	C6H6	71-43-2
	Toluene / Methylbenzene	Toluene	C7H8	108-88-3
	Ethyl benzene	Ethylbenzene	C8H10	100-41-4
	m + p-Xylene	1,3-Dimethylbenzene (m-Xylene)	C8H10	108-38-3 (m-Xylene)
	m + p-Xylene	1,4-Dimethylbenzene (p-Xylene)	C8H10	106-42-3 (p-Xylene)
	o-Xylene	1,2-Dimethylbenzene (o-Xylene)	C8H10	95-47-6
	1,2,4-Trimethylebenzene	1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene	C9H12	95-63-6
	1,2,3-Trimethylebenzene	1,2,3-Trimethylbenzene	C9H12	526-73-8
	1,3,5-Trimethylebenzene	1,3,5-Trimethylebenzene	C9H12	108-67-8
Ketones	Acetone	Propan-2-one	C3H6O	67-64-1
	Methyl ethyl ketone	Butan-2-one	C4H8O	78-93-3
	Methyl vinyl ketone	3-Buten-2-one	C4H6O	78-94-4
Terpenes	Isoprene	2-Methylbut-1,3-diene	C5H8	78-79-5
	p-Cymene	1-Methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)benzene	C10H14	99-87-6
	Limonene	1-methyl-4-(1-methylethenyl)-cyclohexene	C10H16	138-86-3
	β-Myrcene	7-Methyl-3-methylene-1,6-octadiene	C10H16	123-35-3
	α-Pinene	2,6,6-Trimethyl-bicyclo[3.1.1]hept-2-ene	C10H16	80-56-8
	β-Pinene	6,6-Dimethyl-2-methyl-enebicyclo[3.1.1]heptane	C10H16	127-91-3
	Camphene	2,2-dimethyl-3-methyl-enebicyclo[2.2.1]heptane	C10H16	79-92-5
	Δ3-Carene	3,7,7-Trimethyl-bicyclo[4.1.0]hept-3-ene	C10H16	13466-78-9
	1,8-Cineol	1,3,3 trimethyl 2 oxabicyclo[2,2,2]octane	C10H18O	470-82-6

C. Siting

Measurements shall be taken at sampling points set up in accordance with the requirements of this Directive and considered appropriate with regards to the monitoring objectives referred to in Point A of this Section.

Section 4 – MeasurementS of ultrafine particles (UFP)

A. Objectives

The objective of such measurements is to ensure that adequate information is available at locations where high concentrations of UFP occur that are mainly influenced by sources from air, water or road transport (such as airports, ports or roads), industrial sites or domestic heating. The information shall be appropriate to judge on enhanced levels of UFP concentrations from those sources.

B. Substances

UFP.

C. Siting

Sampling points shall be established in accordance with Annexes IV and V at a location where high UFP concentrations are likely to occur and downwind of the main sources within the relevant predominant wind direction of those sources.

(1) Benzo(a)pyrene and the other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons referred to in Article 9(8).

(2) Where the siting of a monitoring supersite at an urban background location does not allow for the guidelines and criteria of EMEP to apply in accordance with Point C, point (f), of Annex IV, the corresponding deposition measurement may be performed at a separate urban background location within the area of representativeness.

(3) Benzo(a)pyrene and the other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons referred to in Article 9(8).

ANNEX VIII

Information to be included in air quality plans and air quality roadmaps for improvement in ambient air quality

A. Information to be provided under Article 19(6)

1. Localisation of excess pollution

(a) region;

(b) city/cities (maps);

2. General information

(a) type of zone (urban, industrial or rural area) or characteristics of the average exposure territorial unit or the territorial unit referred to in Article 19(2) (including urban, industrial or rural areas);

(b) estimate of the polluted area (in km

) and of the population exposed to the pollution;

(c) concentrations or the average exposure indicator of the relevant pollutant observed from at least 5 years prior to the exceedance up to the most recent data, including their comparison with limit values or average exposure reduction obligation and average exposure concentration objective.

3. Responsible authorities

Names and addresses of the competent authorities responsible for the development and implementation of air quality plans or air quality roadmaps.

4. Origin of pollution taking into account reporting pursuant to Directive (EU) 2016/2284 and information provided in the national air pollution control programme

(a) list of the main emission sources responsible for pollution;

(b) total quantity of emissions from these sources (in tonnes/year);

(c) assessment of the level of emissions (e.g. city level, regional level, national level, and transboundary contributions);

(d) source apportionment according to relevant sectors that contribute to the exceedance in the national air pollution control programme.

5. Description of the baseline scenario used as a basis for the air quality plan or air quality roadmap to demonstrate the effects of non-action, including a projected evolution of both emissions and concentrations.

6. Identification and details of air pollution abatement measures that can be considered for selection:

(a) listing and description of all the measures considered in the air quality plan or air quality roadmap, including the identification of the competent authority in charge of their implementation;

(b) quantification or estimation of emission reduction (in tonnes/year) and, where available, concentration reductions of each measure referred to in point (a).

7. Measures selected and their expected impact to reach compliance within the timelines established in Article 19:

(a) listing of measures selected, including a list of information (such as modelling and assessment results of measures) to reach the air quality standard concerned in accordance with Annex I; if relevant, where the list of measures pursuant to point 6(a) of this Point includes measures with possible high potential to improve air quality, but they have not been selected for adoption, an explanation of the reasons why the measures are not selected for adoption;

(b) timetable for implementation of each measure and responsible actors;

(c) quantification of emission reduction (in tonnes/year), from the combination of measures referred to in point (a) of this point;

(d) expected quantified concentration reduction (in μg/m

) at each sampling point in exceedance of limit values, target values or of the average exposure indicator in case of an exceedance of the average exposure reduction obligation, from the set of measures referred to in point (a) of this point;

(e) indicative trajectory towards compliance and estimated year of compliance per air pollutant covered by the air quality roadmap or air quality plan taking into account the set of measures referred to in point (a) of this point;

(f) for air quality roadmaps and air quality plans, reasons to explain how such plans or roadmaps set out measures to ensure that the exceedance period is kept as short as possible, including on the implementation timetable.

8. Annex 1 to air quality plans or air quality roadmaps: Further background information

(a) climatic data;

(b) data on topography;

(d) listing and description of all additional measures, that unfold their full impact on ambient air pollutant concentrations in 3 years or more;

(e) socioeconomic information on the related area, in order to promote environmental equity issues and the protection of sensitive population and vulnerable groups;

(f) a description of the method used and the assumptions made or data used for the projections of the evolution of air quality including, where possible, the margin of uncertainty of projections and sensitivity scenarios to take into account best case, most likely and worst case scenarios;

(g) background documents and information used for the assessment.

9. Annex 2 to air quality plans or air quality roadmaps: A summary of the public information and consultation measures undertaken pursuant to Article 19(7), their results and an explanation of how these results were taken into account in the final air quality plan or air quality roadmap.

10. Annex 3 to air quality plans or air quality roadmaps: Evaluation of measures (in case of an air quality plan update)

(a) assessment of timetable of measures from the previous air quality plan;

(b) estimate of impact on emission reduction and pollutant concentrations of measures from the previous air quality plan.

B. Indicative list of air pollution abatement measures

1. Information concerning the status of implementation of the Directives referred to in Article 14(3), point (b), of Directive (EU) 2016/2284.

2. Information on all air pollution abatement measures that have been considered at local, regional or national level for implementation in connection with the attainment of air quality objectives, such as:

(a) reduction of emissions from stationary sources by ensuring that polluting small and medium-sized stationary combustion sources (including for biomass) are fitted with emission control equipment or replaced, and that the energy efficiency of buildings is improved;

(b) reduction of emissions from vehicles through retrofitting with zero emissions powertrains and emission control equipment; the use of economic incentives to accelerate take-up shall be considered;

(c) procurement by public authorities, in line with the handbook on green public procurement, of fuels, combustion equipment to reduce emissions and zero-emission vehicles as defined in Article 3(1), point (m), of Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1);

(d) reduction of emissions through the uptake of zero- and low-emission collective and public transport vehicles or vehicles equipped with modern digital solutions affecting emissions reduction;

(e) measures to improve the quality, efficiency, affordability and connectivity of collective and public transport;

(f) measures related to the uptake and implementation of alternative fuel infrastructure;

(g) measures to limit transport emissions through urban planning and traffic management, including:

(i) congestion pricing, such as road pricing and mileage-based user fees;

(ii) choice of road materials;

(iii) parking fees on public land or other economic incentives and with differentiated fees for polluting and zero-emission vehicles;

(iv) establishing urban vehicles access restrictions schemes, including low emission zones and zero-emission zones;

(v) establishing low-traffic neighbourhoods, super blocks and car-free neighbourhoods;

(vi) establishing car-free streets;

(vii) ‘last mile’ zero (exhaust) emission delivery arrangements;

(viii)

promoting car sharing and carpooling;

(ix) implementation of intelligent transport systems;

(x) creation of multimodal hubs connecting various sustainable transport solutions and parking facilities;

(xi) incentivising cycling and walking, for example by expanding space for cyclists and pedestrians, prioritising cycling and walking in infrastructure planning, expanding the network of cycling routes;

(xii) planning for compact cities;

(h) measures to encourage a modal shift towards active mobility and less polluting forms of transport (e.g walking, cycling, public transport or rail), including:

(i) electrifying public transport, strengthening the public transport network, and simplifying access and use, for example through digital and interconnected booking and real-time transit information;

(ii) ensuring smooth inter-modality for rural-urban commuting, for example between rail and cycling, and between cars and public transport (such as park and ride schemes);

(iii) redirecting fiscal and economic incentives towards active and shared mobility, including incentives for cycling and walking commute to work;

(iv) scrappage schemes for the most polluting vehicles;

(i) measures to encourage a shift towards zero-emission vehicles and non-road machinery for both private and commercial applications;

(j) measures to ensure that low emission fuels are given preference in small-, medium- and large-scale stationary sources and in mobile sources;

(k) measures to reduce air pollution from industrial sources under Directive 2010/75/EU, and through the use of economic instruments such as taxes, charges or emission trading, while taking into account specificities of SMEs;

(l) reduction of emissions from maritime and air transport through the use of alternative fuels and deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, as well as the use of economic incentives to accelerate their take-up, and establishing specific requirements for ships and boats at berth and port traffic, while speeding up onshore power supply and electrification of ships and port working machinery;

(m) measures to reduce emissions from agriculture;

(n) measures to protect the health of children or other sensitive population and vulnerable groups;

(o) measures to encourage behavioural changes.

(1) Regulation (EU) 2019/631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 setting CO

emission performance standards for new passenger cars and for new light commercial vehicles, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 443/2009 and (EU) No 510/2011 (

OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 13

ANNEX IX

Emergency measures to be considered for inclusion in the short-term action plans required under Article 20

Measures to be considered in the short term aimed at addressing the sources which contribute to the risk of the alert threshold being exceeded, depending on local circumstances and on the pollutant considered:

(a) restricting the circulation of vehicles, specifically around locations frequented by sensitive population and vulnerable groups;

(b) low-fare or fare-free public transportation;

(d) street cleaning;

(e) flexible work arrangements.

ANNEX X

Public information

1. Member States shall provide to the public at least the following information:

(a) hourly up-to-date data per sampling point of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM

and PM

2,5

), carbon monoxide and ozone; this shall apply to information from all sampling points where up-to-date information is available, and at least to information from the minimum number of sampling points required under Annex III if the measurement method is appropriate for up-to-date data (UTD), notwithstanding that Member States provide to the public as much UTD information as possible and progressively adapt their measurement methods to this effect; when available, up-to-date information resulting from modelling applications shall also be provided;

(b) measured concentrations of all pollutants and, where possible, how they compare with the most recent guideline values recommended by the WHO, presented according to the appropriate periods as laid down in Annex I;

(c) information on observed exceedance(s) of any limit value, target value, and average exposure reduction obligation, including at least:

(i) the location or area of the exceedance;

(ii) the start time and duration of the exceedance;

(iii) the measured concentration in comparison to the applicable air quality standards, or average exposure indicator in case of an exceedance of the average exposure reduction obligation;

(d) information regarding impacts on health, including at least:

(i) the health impacts of air pollution on general population, and, as far as possible, of each pollutant covered by this Directive;

(ii) the health impacts of air pollution on sensitive population and vulnerable groups, and, as far as possible, of each pollutant covered by this Directive;

(iii) description of likely symptoms;

(iv) recommended precautions to be taken, broken down into precautions to be taken by the general population and by sensitive population and vulnerable groups;

(v) where to find further information;

(e) information regarding impacts on vegetation;

(f) information on preventive actions to reduce pollution and exposure to it: indication of main source sectors; recommendations for actions to reduce emissions;

(g) information on measuring campaigns or similar activities and their results where performed.

2. Member States shall ensure that timely information about actual or predicted exceedances of alert thresholds, and any information threshold, is provided to the public; details supplied shall include at least the following information:

(a) information on observed exceedance(s):

(i) location or area of the exceedance;

(ii) type of threshold exceeded (alert or information);

(iii) start time and duration of the exceedance;

(iv) highest 1-hour concentration and in addition highest 8-hour mean concentration in the case of ozone;

(b) forecast for the following afternoon/day(s):

(i) geographical area of expected exceedances of alert threshold or information threshold;

(ii) expected changes in pollution (i.e., improvement, stabilisation or deterioration), together with the reasons for those changes;

(i) information on population groups at risk;

(ii) description of likely symptoms;

(iii) recommended precautions to be taken by the population concerned;

(iv) where to find further information;

(d) information on short-term action plans and preventive actions to reduce pollution or exposure to it: indication of main source sectors; recommendations for action to reduce emissions from anthropogenic sources;

(e) recommendations for action to reduce exposure;

(f) in the case of predicted exceedances, Member States shall take steps to ensure that such details are supplied to the extent practicable.

3. When an exceedance occurs or when there is a risk of exceedance of any limit value, target value, average exposure reduction obligation, alert thresholds or information thresholds, Member States shall ensure that the information referred to in this Annex is additionally promoted to the public.

ANNEX XI

PART A

Repealed Directives with lists of the successive amendments thereto (referred to in Article 31)

Directive 2004/107/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

(OJ L 23, 26.1.2005, p. 3).

Regulation (EC) No 219/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council

(OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 109).

only point 3.8 of the Annex

Commission Directive (EU) 2015/1480

(OJ L 226, 29.8.2015, p. 4).

only Articles 1 and 2

Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

(OJ L 152, 11.6.2008, p. 1).

PART B

Time-limits for transposition into national law (referred to in Article 31)

Directive	Time-limit for transposition
2004/107/EC	15 February 2007
2008/50/EC	11 June 2010
(EU) 2015/1480	31 December 2016

ANNEX XII

Correlation table

This Directive	Directive 2008/50/EC	Directive 2004/107/EC
Article 1	—	—
Article 2	Article 1	Article 1
Article 3	Article 32	Article 8
Article 4	Article 2	Article 2
Article 5	Article 3	—
Article 6	Article 4	Article 4(1)
Article 7	Article 5 and Article 9(2) Annex II, Section B	Article 4(2), (3) and (6) Annex II, Section II
Article 8	Article 6 and Article 9(1)	Article 4(1) to (5) and (10)
Article 9	Articles 7 and 10 Annex V, Section A, point 1, footnote 1	Article 4(7), (8) and (11)
Article 10	—	Article 4(9)
Article 11	Articles 8 and 11	Article 4(12) and (13)
Article 12	Article 12, Article 17(1) and (3) and Article 18	Article 3(2)
Article 13	Article 13 and 15, Article 16(2) and Article 17(1)	Article 3(1) and (3)
Article 14	Article 14	—
Article 15	Article 19, first paragraph	—
Article 16	Article 20	—
Article 17	Article 21	—
Article 18	Article 22	—
Article 19	Article 17(2) and Article 23	Article 3(3) and Article 5(2)
Article 20	Article 24	—
Article 21	Article 25	—
Article 22	Article 26	Article 7
Article 23	Article 19, second paragraph, and Article 27 Annex III, Section D	Article 5(1) and (4)
Article 24	Article 28	Article 4(15)
Article 25	—	—
Article 26	Article 29	Article 6
Article 27	—	—
Article 28	—	—
Article 29	Article 30	Article 9
Article 30	Article 33	Article 10
Article 31	Article 31	—
Article 32	Article 34	Article 11
Article 33	Article 35	Article 12
Annex I	Annexes VII, XI, XII, XIII and XIV	Annex I
Annex II	Annex II, Section B	Annex II, Section I
Annex III	Annexes V and IX	Annex III, Section IV
Annex IV	Annexes III and VIII	Annex III, Sections I, II and III
Annex V	Annex I	Annex IV
Annex VI	Annex VI	Annex V
Annex VII	Annexes IV and X	—
Annex VIII	Annex XV	—
Annex IX	—	—
Annex X	Annex XVI	—
Annex XI	—	—
Annex XII	Annex XVII	—

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/2881/oj

ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)