Air quality in Île-de-France improved in 2023 compared to 2022 and has been improving for twenty years, but the results are stagnating for low-altitude ozone, a “gaseous pollutant harmful to the system respiratory”. This is what the latest report from Airparif, an independent Ile-de-France association for monitoring and information on air quality, says.
In detail, the concentrations of fine particles and nitrogen dioxide fell on average by 40% between 2013 and 2023 in Île-de-France. Nitrogen dioxide is a polluting gas which notably aggravates the risk of mortality linked to diabetes and stroke, while fine particles aggravate “the risk of mortality linked to heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer and risk of developing Parkinson’s disease,” according to Airparif.
Global warming slows the decline in ozone
“The improvement in air quality that we are seeing in Île-de-France illustrates the effective impact of the implementation of public policies. They bring concrete benefits in terms of human health,” says Karine Léger, general director of Airparif.
On the other hand, the evolution is less positive for low altitude ozone (O3), “a gaseous pollutant harmful to the respiratory system”. This is mainly linked to global warming, which leads to an increase in temperatures favorable to the formation of ozone.
6,200 premature deaths per year in Île-de-France
And if the limit values imposed by French regulations are now respected for most pollutants throughout Île-de-France, this is not the case for nitrogen dioxide. In 2023, “5,000 people were still exposed to nitrogen dioxide concentrations above the regulatory limit value, compared to 40,000 in 2022 and 1.3 million in 2017,” according to Airparif.
In total, and despite these favorable developments, there were still around 6,200 premature deaths per year in Île-de-France in 2019, according to the Île-de-France Regional Health Organization (ORS-IDF). 10 exceedances of the regulatory information threshold – which determines the transition to a pollution episode – were noted in 2023.
New regulations
This is why the European Parliament must vote this Wednesday to establish new, stricter standards. For example, for nitrogen dioxide, they would increase the current limit values of 40 micrograms per cubic meter per year to 20 micrograms. Which is still far from the limit values recommended by the WHO, of 10 micrograms.
If we took the WHO limit values, the whole of Ile-de-France would be affected by exceedances for fine particles and low altitude ozone. “These international reference thresholds are lower than the French and European regulatory limit values, and are based on the most recent scientific and health knowledge regarding the impact of air pollutants on health,” explains Airparif.
With the establishment of new regulatory limit values by the EU, 4.5 million inhabitants of Île-de-France would have been exposed to concentrations of air pollutants greater than at least one of these new regulatory limit values. But if these standards were respected, nearly 1,800 premature deaths per year could be avoided, or around a third of those that occur in Ile-de-France, according to projections.