Combining policies that tackle local air pollution and global climate change will deliver enhanced benefits for climate change mitigation, according to researchers. Medium-term efforts to control air pollution will provide additional benefits to long-term strategies that aim to curb climate change.

Existing technologies could reduce emissions of CO2 and air pollutants from land transport by almost a third. But, reductions will not be delivered through markets alone, according to a recent assessment, particularly for CO2. The researchers argue that strong policy interventions will be essential to mitigating climate change caused by emissions from land transport.

Environmental policy makers increasingly rely on computer models to test traffic policies. Researchers have investigated the impact of reducing speed limits on traffic emissions using two different models, but the models produced some contradictory results. The researchers therefore warn policy makers to interpret model results very carefully and to avoid relying on simple 'macroscopic' models.

A recent study assesses new methods for comparing and predicting air quality data in Helsinki, Finland and Thessaloniki, Greece, that significantly improve the capability to analyse and predict air quality in these cities. There are good indications that the methods could be applied to other European cities.

Agriculture is a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Researchers have developed a framework for estimating emissions of methane and nitrous oxides from agriculture, by updating the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approach, which captures more detail about differences between locations.

A new study has shown that life expectancy and monetary benefits increase significantly when levels of fine particles are reduced further in European cities. It also reveals that living near busy roads could be responsible for a substantial amount of poor health attributable to air pollution.

Companies with environmental standard ISO 14001 certification may emit just as much air pollution as non-certified companies, according to a recent study. The results suggest companies see ISO 14001 as a way to appear environmentally responsible rather than to actively improve their environmental credentials.

The quality of indoor air varies widely across Europe, according to a recent study. However, more data are needed from a range of locations, especially in towns and cities, and greater harmonisation of sampling and analysis procedures are needed to develop a more comprehensive picture of European indoor air quality.

Traffic fumes can cause serious health problems, but their distribution and spread in complex urban environments can be hard to predict. Now, researchers have created the ‘STEMS-Air dispersion model’, which can be used by planners and health authorities to give accurate daily and annual estimates of exposure to traffic fumes and other forms of air pollution in cities.

The quality of indoor air varies widely across Europe, according to a recent study. Poor indoor air quality is mainly due to household products, outdoor pollution and smoking yielding high levels of organic pollutants harmful to human health. The study indicates higher levels of indoor air pollution in southern Europe than in northern Europe, and with an associated risk of cancer higher than the acceptable unit risk. However the present data must be improved in order to get more precise risk estimates

A study in the Czech Republic has found a link between exposure to certain air pollutants and an increase in DNA damage for people exposed to high levels of the pollution. They found that breathing small quantities of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), called benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), caused an increase in the number of certain ‘biomarkers’ in DNA associated with a higher risk of diseases, including cancer.

The nitrogen dioxides (NOX) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of some light-duty petrol and diesel vehicles are higher during on-road driving than during standard laboratory tests, according to a new study. This means that in normal on-road driving, light-duty vehicles, which include passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, may exceed European emissions limits and could be having a greater impact on urban air quality than previously thought.

Overall concentrations of some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in soil have declined, according to research conducted in Norway and the UK. The researchers suggest that there has been a reduced influence of primary sources of some POPs on soils for these two countries in recent years.

Ultrafine particles emitted from a waste incinerator plant in Italy have been characterised in a recent study. The results suggest that a fabric filter was efficient at cleaning particulate matter from the exhaust gases. Data produced by the study could go on to be used by scientists studying the potential health impacts of ultrafine particles.

Sulphur and nitrogen emissions have been significantly reduced across Europe in recent decades, but a recent study from Sweden finds that some forest soils are still struggling to recover from the acidifying effects of the pollutants. Some areas are also at risk of nitrogen leaching from soils into surface waters.

A new report suggests that underground carbon storage projects in Europe could lead to positive and negative effects on air pollution, depending on the pollutant in question. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is considered in European legislation as a ‘bridging technology’ – a medium-term solution to climate change. Although the overall air quality impact of CCS is expected to be positive, the legislation notes that the technology should not be seen as a replacement for commitments to developing a greener and more energy-efficient economy.

Scientists have created a new, easy-to-use tool that allows health professionals to monitor the day-to-day risks posed by short-term exposure to main urban air pollutants. The tool could enable vulnerable groups, such as asthmatics, to take precautionary measures and to increase public awareness of the health impacts of air pollution, say the researchers.

Recently adopted EU waste legislation and its implementation at national level could have a significant effect on some countries’ emission loads for municipal solid waste incinerators, according to a recent study. The study suggests that the effects of increasing incineration over the next decade would be most profound for countries where incineration is currently only used on a small scale.

Extending the Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances to include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) could have important benefits for climate change action, say scientists in a recent analysis. HFCs are currently part of the Kyoto Protocol as greenhouse gases, but this protection will end with the expiry of Kyoto commitments this year.

Residents living within half a mile of unconventional natural gas wells may have an increased risk of illness from exposure to air pollution from the wells, according to a recent study. The peer-reviewed study recommends that risk prevention efforts to minimise impacts on human health should concentrate on communities living and working close to wells during well completions and that further studies on health effects of exposures to air emissions from such projects should be carried out.

Pollen allergy is a common cause of allergic respiratory diseases such as hay fever and asthma. A recent continent-wide study suggests that rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the last 30 years may be increasing pollen counts especially in European cities, which could have serious consequences for public health.

Man-made pollutants may be responsible for the expansion of the tropics in the northern hemisphere, according to recent research. Black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone, formed from human activities, are heating the atmosphere and shifting major atmospheric circulation patterns further north, which could create drier conditions in the subtropics.

Planting vegetation in city streets could significantly reduce air pollution in urban street canyons, according to new research. Traffic pollutants are deposited on vegetation at a higher rate than on hard, built surfaces and could reduce the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM10 in the air by as much as 40% and 60%, respectively, under certain conditions.

New research has modelled the impacts of Athens and Istanbul in the eastern Mediterranean, on local and regional air quality. Results indicate that the impacts of megacity pollution vary significantly according to the time of year and that air quality improvements will require coordinated efforts within the eastern Mediterranean region and beyond.

To reduce air pollution levels in harbours, EU Directive 2005/33/EC requires all anchored ships to use fuels with low sulphur content. A recent study of air quality in Mediterranean harbours shows that levels of sulphur dioxide have decreased significantly since the Directive was implemented in 2010.

A study on the transport of radioactive isotopes from Fukushima in the two months after the nuclear incident suggests that they were at official levels of contamination for 34,000 km2 of Japan, and that 2.8% of iodine radionuclides from the event were calculated to have reached the EU.

A recent global study has estimated that, each year, 1.5 million people die early from cardiopulmonary diseases and 0.1 million people die early from lung cancer caused by exposure to PM2.5 pollution. A further 0.4 million people are estimated to die early from respiratory diseases caused by exposure to surface ozone (O3) pollution. Although short-lived air pollutants have the largest influence on air quality and premature deaths, controlling methane emissions as well would improve air quality and reduce the number of people dying prematurely each year, the study suggests.

Low emission zones (LEZs) that restrict old vehicles in city centres may need implementation in combination with other traffic policies to have greater impacts on air quality, according to new research. A study that measured emission levels before and after the introduction of LEZs in five Dutch cities indicated that air pollution concentrations were reduced but not to a statistically significant level.

More Europeans are driving diesel cars, with important implications for vehicle emissions. A new study suggests that diesel cars may emit nitrogen oxides (NOx) at levels far higher than emissions standards, even when considering the newest generation of diesel cars. Part of the problem is that tests of vehicle emissions in the laboratory do not accurately reflect on-road emissions.

For the first time, researchers have quantified the link between heat waves, the removal of ozone from the atmosphere by vegetation, ground-level ozone concentrations and its impact on human health and ecosystems. They found that high ozone levels, enhanced by effectively ‘turning-off’ the loss of ozone to the vegetated surface, could have caused around 460 extra deaths during a UK heat wave in 2006. In contrast, the heat wave protected ecosystems from ozone damage as plants absorbed less ozone from the atmosphere.ozone damage as plants absorbed less ozone from the atmosphere.

A new study has estimated that nitrogen oxide (NOx) and harmful ozone levels will fall significantly in Europe, by 2030, if all current and planned air quality legislation is implemented. The co-beneficial effects of climate change policies could also reduce levels of these air pollutants by a further 40%.

A recent study suggests that mercury deposited from the atmosphere is the main source of mercury pollution in the open oceans. Curbing mercury emissions will slowly lead to a decrease in contaminated fish, as eaten by humans, within a few years to decades after the cuts have been made, the researchers suggest.

Predicting the effects of changing levels of atmospheric gases on agricultural crops is vital to ensuring food security under global environmental change. As well as yield, impacts on the nutritional value of crops must be considered. A new study has now shown that increased ozone decreases yields and increases the proportion of protein in the grain. Conversly, elevated levels of CO2 boosts wheat yields, but it also reduces protein proportion in two different ways.

Cutting mercury pollution could save Europe €8-9 billion per year by protecting children’s brain development, suggests a recent study. A third of babies in Europe are estimated to be exposed to unsafe levels of mercury before they are born, when in the womb, which may reduce their IQ and, in turn, restrict their educational and working achievements over their lifetime. This has long-term implications for society and the economy.

Levels of air pollution significantly increase on the island of Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic when tourist cruise ships are present, according to a recent study. With shipping levels rising in the region, the researchers recommend that stricter emissions regulations are introduced in order to limit the impact of pollution on the Arctic environment.

The damaging health impacts of some key air pollutants can occur at lower atmospheric concentrations than indicated by the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality guidelines, set in 2005 and currently used in Europe. This is according to a new WHO report, which assesses scientific evidence to help inform European air pollution policies.

Researchers have developed a new model to assess the health-related external costs arising from air pollution from ten major emission sectors. Applying the model at national and Europe-wide levels, they suggested that the major contributors to costs were industrial power production, agriculture, road traffic and domestic combustion.

Low emissions zones (LEZs) can substantially reduce local levels of traffic-based air pollution, a new study has shown. Monitoring air pollution in Munich, Germany, researchers found that particulate matter from traffic sources dropped by 60% after implementation of an LEZ.

Inhaling volcanic ash could weaken the body’s natural defences against infection, a recent study concludes. A team of researchers collected samples of ash from the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in Iceland and, in laboratory tests, found that they reduced the ability of immune cells in lungs to fight off bacterial infections.

The public health impacts of air pollution in Europe remain large, but are falling thanks to regulatory actions to cut emissions, a recent study finds. However, it issues a warning about the public health impacts of emissions from rising levels of international ship traffic.

Strong acids formed from shipping emissions can produce seasonal ‘hot spots’ of ocean acidification, a recent study finds. These hot spots, in ocean areas close to busy shipping lanes, could have negative effects on local marine ecology and commercially farmed seafood species.

Low emission zones (LEZs), which restrict access for high emission vehicles, have proven to be a successful way to improve air quality in line with EU regulations. An analysis of London’s LEZ has revealed discernible reductions in air pollution levels five years after implementation.

A new study finds that meeting WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) on particulate emissions by 2030, thereby improving global human health, will require a combination of stringent policies on air pollution, climate change and access to clean cooking fuels.

Gas flaring and residential combustion are significant sources of soot, or black carbon, pollution in the Arctic, but their role has been underestimated until now, according to a recent study. The research indicates that flaring from oil and gas developments is the largest source of this pollutant, responsible for 42% of black carbon pollution in the Arctic.

House sparrows have the potential to become indicators of air quality, according to a recent Spanish study. The researchers demonstrated that small blood samples taken from the sparrows varied significantly depending on pollution levels in the birds’ habitat.

High levels of ammonia were observed at a Natura 2000 site nearly three kilometres upwind from an intensive poultry farm in a recent study. While downwind effects of ammonia emissions are to be expected, this study suggests that ammonia emissions could be a significant source of nitrogen pollution even upwind from the source.

Some progress has been made towards improving air quality in Europe with levels of sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and benzene all falling substantially in recent years, a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) concludes. However, threats to human health and ecosystems remain, and urban citizens’ exposure to high levels of particulate matter (PM) and ozone are a particular concern.

Air pollution from the world’s megacities not only has local impacts, but can spread to remote regions of the world. Recent research has highlighted, for example, that megacities are a source of black carbon pollution in lowest kilometre of atmosphere in the Arctic, with European megacities contributing more than others.

Increased black smoke pollution was associated with increased mortality rates almost a month after exposure in a recent study. The researchers studied death rates in relation to pollution concentrations over a 22-year period in the city of Glasgow, UK, and found significantly higher mortality rates among residents at 13-18 and 19-24 days after increased exposure to black smoke.

The EU's Nitrates Directive has led to significant decreases in nitrogen pollution in Europe, a new study suggests. Modelled scenarios with and without implementation of the Directive showed that it had resulted in a 16% reduction of nitrate leaching by 2008. These improvements could be further increased as implementation becomes stricter, the researchers conclude.