Environment: Do we have better air quality than in previous years?

In France, air quality is improving; between 2000 and 2021, carbon dioxide emissions decreased by 60%. 

In France, according to Santé publique France, 47,000 people die prematurely due to fine particles and nitrogen oxides emitted by various vehicles. However, the number of fine particles is decreasing, as observed in a report published by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.    

The evolution of air quality in major cities 

In 2017, according to the expertise service for air quality (LCSQA), no city in France had a nitrogen dioxide concentration of 10 μg/m3 or less. However, in 2022, still according to LCSQA, two cities have a nitrogen dioxide concentration of 10 μg/m3 or less: Saint-Nazaire and Le Mans. In comparison, Paris had a concentration of 52 μg/m3 in 2017, down from 83 μg/m3. It is the city with the poorest air quality in France, with Lyon ranking second.

What do these data represent? 

There is a target value to meet, which should not be exceeded, set by the World Health Organization (WHO). This value is ≤10 μg/m3. Only two cities in France meet this standard. Conversely, the regulatory limit that should not be exceeded is 40 μg/m3, and four cities—Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Perpignan, and Rouen—exceed this threshold.   

What are the causes of this reduction? 

Two main factors come to mind. First, the implementation of environmental badges (critières) introduced in major cities across the country, of which there are five. Second, low-emission zones (ZFE). The goal of these zones is to reduce traffic and, most importantly, to restrict access to the least polluting vehicles. 

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