Status: 02/13/2023 2:22 p.m
In 2022, the limit values for particulate matter and nitrogen oxide will be complied with almost everywhere. The Federal Environment Agency sees health risks. The limit values do not correspond to the scientific assessments.
Air quality in Germany continued to improve over the past year. In 2022, for the fifth year in a row, the fine dust limit values were not exceeded and the limit value for nitrogen dioxide was only exceeded at two measuring stations close to traffic in Munich and in Essen, according to the Federal Environment Agency (UBA).
However, the authority advocated stricter requirements. The applicable limit values for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide were set more than 20 years ago and do not correspond to current scientific knowledge about the health effects of air pollution, explained UBA President Dirk Messner.
He pointed out that the EU Commission is orienting its draft for a new air quality directive more closely to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO guideline values exceeded in many cases
The UBA has provisionally evaluated the data from around 500 measuring stations. In the case of particulate matter, the values were complied with everywhere. However, according to the UBA, 42 percent of the stations had annual mean values for fine dust with particles with a diameter of less than ten micrometers above the WHO guide values. In the case of fine dust with particles up to 2.5 microns, the WHO guideline value was exceeded almost everywhere.
In the case of nitrogen dioxide, around three quarters of the measuring stations, especially in urban areas, did not comply with the WHO recommendations. The decline in mean concentration values has also continued, but only slightly compared to 2021. The main source of the pollutant are vehicles with diesel engines.
A similar picture emerges when it comes to ozone pollution: according to the UBA, it was average in 2022 despite the hot summer period, and the applicable limit values were hardly exceeded. “Nevertheless, the WHO guideline values for ozone were missed across the board (100 percent),” writes the Federal Environment Agency.
UBA: 28,000 deaths in Germany
However, the greatest “threat” comes from “permanently high fine dust concentrations, which lead to numerous premature deaths – around 28,000 in Germany and around 238,000 in the EU – and diseases,” explained Messner. Germany therefore supports the EU Commission’s initiative for stricter limit values.
Particulate matter is produced in conurbations, especially in road traffic from exhaust gases and brake and tire abrasion, as well as from furnaces and heating systems, power and district heating plants and metal and steel production. According to UBA, animal husbandry also contributes to the formation of particulate matter with ammonia emissions.