Uppsala Boasts the Cleanest Air of Any City in Europe

The European Environment Agency’s (EEA) updated air quality viewer reveals that Uppsala and Umeå in Sweden, along with Faro in Portugal, enjoy the cleanest air of any cities in Europe. With three out of four Europeans living in urban areas and many exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution, improving air quality to meet World Health Organization (WHO) standards could significantly reduce premature deaths linked to pollution.

The EEA’s viewer ranks 375 cities based on average levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), using data from over 500 monitoring stations across EEA member countries collected over the past two years (2022 and 2023). Only 13 European cities had average PM2.5 concentrations below the WHO's health-based guideline of 5 micrograms per cubic meter of air (5 μg/m³). These include four northern capitals: Reykjavik, Tallinn, Stockholm, and Helsinki.

The European Green Deal’s zero pollution action plan aims to cut premature deaths from fine particulate matter by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels and to eliminate significant health impacts by 2050. Earlier this year, EU institutions agreed to update air quality directives to align EU standards more closely with WHO guidelines and support the zero pollution goals.

The EEA’s city air quality viewer highlights typical air quality levels in European cities over the past two years, focusing on PM2.5 due to its severe health impacts. Later this year, the EEA will release an analysis of air pollution’s effects on ecosystems and human health, including estimates of deaths and illnesses attributed to poor air quality.