A new interactive map that monitors air quality in real time across Europe has been launched.

The European Commission and European Environment Agency’s (EEA) Air Quality Atlas shows the local air quality situation based on five key pollutants that harm people’s health and environment.

That includes particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ground level ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulphur dioxide (SO2).

It also allows people to check the current air quality across Europe’s cities and regions and is accompanied by new country fact sheets that provide updated information for EEA member countries.

Their Air Quality Index provides information based on measurements from more than 2,000 monitoring stations.

The EEA’s recent research revealed most people living in Europe’s cities are still exposed to air pollution levels deemed harmful by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The new tools are expected to help pave the way for targeted measures to improve air quality and raise people’s awareness of the situation in Europe.

Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director said: “This information, accessible to everyone, is an important basis for a dialogue and decisions that are needed to safeguard people’s health, especially in cities.”