The EU reports a significant drop in air pollution over the period 1990-2017

The European Union (EU) reports a significant drop in air pollution over the period 1990-2017, shows the data from the European Statistical Office Eurostat.

For the period a reduction is registered for all types of pollutants. The largest decrease is in the emissions of sulfur oxides – 90% for the period. The following are non-methane volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides of about 60% each.

Emissions of fine particulate matter are almost halved from 1990 to the end of 2017, Eurostat reports.

The smallest is the decrease in ammonia emissions – approximately 25%.

Sulfur oxide emissions are estimated at 2.3 million tonnes at the end of 2017 compared to 25 million tonnes in 1990. The largest reduction in atmospheric sulfur emissions is reported in the energy sector – by 15.3 million tonnes.

The decline is the result of several measures, including the transition to alternative fuels, tightening of sulfur oxides requirements in fuels, etc.

Concerning nitrogen oxides, from 18 million tonnes in 1990 emissions fell to 7.5 million tonnes by the end of 2017. The largest reduction is in road transport (4.6 million tonnes), with it is also the economic sector with the largest contribution to the emissions of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere.