Page | Air pollution

Air pollution sources

Cover design: EEACover photo: © EEALayout: EEA

Legal notice

The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of the European Commission or otherinstitutions of the European Union. Neither the European Environment Agency nor any person or company acting onbehalf of the Agency is responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained in this report.

Copyright notice

© European Environment Agency, 2017Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated.

Information about the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server(www.europa.eu).

Electronic publication notice

This report has been generated automatically by the EEA Web content management system on 14 Nov 2017, 10:56 AM.

This report is available as a website at https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/air-pollution-sources. Go online to getmore interactive facts and figures.On the report web page you may download the electronic publication (EPUB) for easy reading on your preferredeBook reader.Please consider the environment before printing.

European Environment AgencyKongens Nytorv 61050 Copenhagen KDenmarkTel.: + 45 33 36 71 00Fax: + 45 33 36 71 99Web: eea.europa.euEnquiries: eea.europa.eu/enquiries

5

66668

Contents

Air pollution sources

Related contentRelated infographicsRelated publicationsSee alsoTemporal coverage

Air pollution sources

Air pollutants are emitted from a range of both man-made and natural sources including:

burning of fossil fuels in electricity generation, transport, industry and households;industrial processes and solvent use, for example in the chemical and mining industries;agriculture;waste treatment;natural sources, including volcanic eruptions, windblown dust, sea-salt spray andemissions of volatile organic compounds from plants.

Air pollutants can be released directly into the atmosphere (primary emissions) or can form as aresult of chemical interaction involving precursor substances.

The air pollutant emissions cause air pollution, however, reductions in emissions do not alwaysautomatically result in similar cuts in concentrations. There are complex links between airpollutant emissions and air quality. These include emission heights, chemical transformations,reactions to sunlight, additional natural and hemispheric contributions and the impact of weatherand topography. Significant cuts in emissions are essential for improving air quality.

5Air pollution sources

Source: EEA Signals 2013

Related contentRelated infographics

Sources of air pollution in Europe [https://www.eea.europa.eu/signals/signals-2013/infographics/sources-of-air-pollution-in-europe/view]

Related publications

EEA Signals 2013 - Every breath we take [https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea-signals-2013]

See also

Cyprus � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/cyprus]

Sweden � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-

Related content

6 Air pollution sources

fact-sheets/sweden]

Romania � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/romania]

Denmark � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/denmark]

Air pollution country fact sheets 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/air-pollution-country-fact-sheets]

Estonia � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/estonia]

Belgium � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/belgium]

Lithuania � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/lithuania]

Czech Republic � air pollution country fact sheet 2017[https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/czech-republic]

Finland � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/finland]

Luxembourg � air pollution country fact sheet 2017[https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/luxembourg]

France � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/france]

Hungary � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/hungary]

Malta � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/malta]

Greece � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/greece]

Spain � air pollution country fact sheet 2016 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/spain]

Bulgaria � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/bulgaria]

Ireland � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/ireland]

Related content

7Air pollution sources

Norway � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/norway]

Poland � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/poland]

Switzerland � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/switzerland]

Croatia � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/croatia]

Portugal � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/portugal]

United Kingdom � air pollution country fact sheet 2017[https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/united-kingdom]

Netherlands � air pollution country fact sheet 2017[https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/netherlands]

Turkey � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/turkey]

Latvia � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/latvia]

Germany � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/germany]

Slovakia � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/slovakia]

Slovenia � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/slovenia]

Iceland � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/iceland]

Liechtenstein � air pollution country fact sheet 2017[https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/liechtenstein]

Austria � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/austria]

Italy � air pollution country fact sheet 2017 [https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/country-fact-sheets/italy]

Temporal coverage

Related content

8 Air pollution sources

Published on 10 Nov 2017Dynamic

Related content

9Air pollution sources