4sfera has developed a new series of heatmaps to visualise air quality compliance across Europe, based on updated pollutant limit values introduced by the recently adopted EU Directive 2024/2881. These heatmaps compare the future limit values from the EU Directive 2024/2881 – in which compliance is required no later than 2030 – with those from the amended EU Directive 2008/50/EC and the World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines. These offer a clear and immediate understanding of each country’s current status (latest 2023 validated data) and the efforts required in the coming years to achieve compliance.
Following the recent publication of EEA’s Air quality status report 2025 based on our report, these visual tools aim to support policymakers, environmental agencies, and the general public by offering an accessible overview of air pollution levels and regulatory alignment across European countries. Each heatmap indicates whether any monitoring stations in a given country exceed the maximum allowable values for specific pollutants.
Comparison with the Previous Directive and WHO Guidelines
To provide a comprehensive view, the visualisation set also includes comparison plots illustrating:
- Exceedances under the previous EU Directive (2008/50/EC), showcasing compliance with current levels.
- Exceedances under the future 2030 EU limit values based on 2024/2881, showcasing how the updated standards affect compliance levels.
- A heatmap based on WHO air quality guidelines, which are more stringent and represent an ambitious goal for long-term global air quality improvements.
These comparative insights highlight the increasing regulatory demands and the remaining gap between current air quality levels and health-based standards, underlining the need for accelerated action to protect public health.
* The 2030 limit values are presented for comparative purposes only to show the distance to the target to achieve these limits by 2030.
Understanding the colour code
Each map uses a clear and intuitive colour scheme to indicate the compliance status of each country concerning a particular pollutant:
- Yellow: Non-compliant countries where at least one Sampling Point (SPO) is exceeding.
- Turquoise: Compliant countries where no SPOs are exceeding regarding EU Directive 2008/50/EC & EU Directive 2024/2881 and WHO values.
These maps are tailored to each pollutant and its respective averaging period—annual, daily, or hourly—allowing users to easily identify which pollutants present the greatest challenge in each region.