But 98% of Europeans live in areas WHO says have unhealthy levels of PM2.5

Air pollution levels have improved in Europe over the past 20 years, research has found.

However, despite these improvements, most of the European population lives in areas exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. About 98% of Europeans live in areas the WHO says have unhealthy levels of small particles known as PM2.5, 80% for larger ones known as PM10, and 86% for nitrogen dioxide.

See how polluted your part of Europe is

Exclusive: Capital’s mayor points to study showing roadside pollutants falling faster than elsewhere in the UK

Sadiq Khan has hailed what he said was remarkable progress in improving London’s air quality under his tenure as mayor, after a study showed roadside pollutant levels falling faster in the city than elsewhere in the UK.

The report, produced by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Transport for London (TfL), said a good proportion of the improvement was the result of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), which was extended to all London boroughs last summer.

Health campaigners are voicing concerns that the issue is being neglected – despite the devastating death toll around the world

Seven million people die each year from illnesses attributable to air pollution , yet it has never had global recognition in the same way as Aids, tuberculosis and malaria, and now there are growing calls from the health sector for that to change.

Relative to other health issues that have access to billion-dollar global funds, air pollution has a far greater health impact, said Christa Hasenkopf, the director of clean air programmes at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (Epic).

Researchers say the number of Americans exposed to unhealthy air will rise by 50% by the middle of the century

Vast swaths of the continental US will be exposed to unhealthy, polluted air by 2054, according to an alarming new report.

Researchers at First Street Foundation, a non-profit that analyzes climate risk, found that one in four Americans are already exposed to air that is deemed “unhealthy” by the Air Quality Index (AQI), which provides daily air quality readings. That number is expected to grow by 50% in the next few decades, with an estimated total of 125 million Americans experiencing dangerous air pollution by the middle of the century .

Frank Keightley responds to a travel article about narrowboating in Lancashire with a cautionary word about wood burners and diesel engines. Plus a letter from Prof John Whitelegg on other sources of particulate pollution

I enjoyed the article on narrowboating ( After five years on a narrowboat, I’ve finally reached the end of the canal network, 17 February ), as a regular walker of canal towpaths (and also hailing from north-west Lancashire). But the picture of the author relaxing in front of his wood-burning stove reminded me that this is the heating method of choice for most canal boat owners, so I suppose that those of them who are regular Guardian readers will still be agonising over another recent article ( Wood-burning stoves largely offset fall in particulate pollution from roads in UK , 14 February).

And, given that most canal boats are powered by diesel engines, are there any words of comfort and advice that you can offer them now that their green transport credentials have taken another knock?
Frank Keightley
Old, Northamptonshire

Benefits would quickly follow reductions in air pollution from traffic and home heating, argues European Environment Agency

Approximately 238,000 air pollution deaths could be avoided each year if the EU27 countries actually met World Health Organization guidelines for air pollution, according to figures from the European Environment Agency. And more than 400,000 deaths could be avoided if particle air pollution could be avoided completely.

On 20 February the EU Council agreed new legislation for clean air for 2030 and beyond. As EU countries work towards these new legal limits, a new study has estimated the benefits that could quickly arise with reductions in air pollution from traffic and home heating.

Even small amount of exposure to minute soot particles – known as PM2.5 – raises the risk of cardiovascular disease

The sooty air pollution spewed out by cars, trucks and factories is causing widespread harm to people’s hearts and lungs even with the smallest amounts of exposure, with government regulations still routinely allowing for dangerous risks to public health, two major new studies have found.

There is no safe amount of a microscopic form of airborne pollution known as PM2.5, consisting of tiny particles of soot measuring less than the width of a human hair, for heart and lung health, US researchers found, with even small amounts raising the risk of potentially serious problems.

Rules hailed as once-in-a-generation chance to improve air quality but loopholes will let member states delay by up to a decade

The European Union has agreed to set stricter limits on the toxic particles and dangerous gas that dirty its air, but will not aim for the levels that doctors and economists recommend.

The new rules slash the yearly limits for fine particulates known as PM2.5 – which wreak havoc on the whole body because they are small enough to slip into the bloodstream – from 25 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³, and for nitrogen dioxide, a gas that hurts the lungs, from 40 µg/m³ to 20 µg/m³.

Exclusive: Documents show warnings that changes would weaken environmental protections were ignored

Ministers have been accused of “misleading the public” after documents obtained by Ends Report and the Guardian revealed they ignored their officials’ advice when scrapping key air quality regulations.

On 31 December, two key air quality regulations will drop off the statute book under the Retained EU Law (REUL) Act.

. Revoke the NAPCP with no replacement, with the environment improvement plan (EIP) becoming the alternative process

2. Revoke the NAPCP provisions and introduce a new process for assessing policy options, with a new process triggered by a failure or potential failure to achieve a target