Action stations - What can be done to combat air pollution in Europe?

While air pollution is largely invisible, the health implications of breathing tiny PM2.5 particles is increasingly well-known.

- Gary Fuller

We explore each of the five sources, which need structural solutions, as well as what you as an individual can do.

1 Home heating 

Burning solid fuel is the most polluting way to heat homes. The health cost of air pollution from home heating across Europe was estimated at €29bn ($31bn) a year in 2018.

The availability of fossil gas since the 1970s meant many homes in western Europe turned away from solid fuel, leading to large improvements in air quality. For the past two decades, this trend is being reversed with the rising popularity of wood stoves as aesthetic items.

In eastern Europe, home heating with coal remains popular. Studies across Ireland highlight severe particle pollution from wood, coal and peat burning.

2 Agriculture 

The main source of PM2.5 from agriculture is ammonia from fertiliser and animal waste. Dr Anna Font, of the research institute IMT Nord Europe, said it represented about 94% of all ammonia emissions in Europe. "Ammonia emitted as a gas will rapidly transform into ammonium particles by combining with sulphate and nitrate. These represent roughly 20% to 40% of total PM2.5 in the air," she said.