Ana Rosa Gamarra

The Atmosphere Watch analysis, published by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, shows how, in 2026, air pollution has crossed borders and caused nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population to be exposed to high levels of tropospheric ozone. This pollutant is produced when other harmful compounds react with sunlight and high temperatures. The report highlights the massive wildfires in France, Spain and Belgium this summer, which generated significant smoke transport, affecting air quality thousands of kilometres away. Furthermore, across Europe as a whole, successive heatwaves between June and August led to an increase in ozone emissions from local sources, resulting in the health protection limit values being exceeded.  

A study led by ISGlobal shows that European regions with higher levels of poverty and lower use of renewable energy face a greater risk of mortality from air pollution. The research, published in Nature Medicine, analysed 88.8 million deaths that occurred between 2003 and 2019 across 653 regions in 31 European countries, covering a population of 521 million people. Areas with higher GDP per capita, lower poverty rates, and longer life expectancy—mainly in northern and western Europe—showed lower mortality risks, while other regions, particularly in southern Europe, experienced up to double the associated risk.