paris-ciel-bleu-tour-eiffel-quais-trocadero-qualit

The air quality in Paris has been improving for 15 years!

undefined undefined 25 janvier 2025 undefined 12h00

The Editor

© Neirfy / Shutterstock

Alright, let's calm you down right away; the situation is still far from optimal. However, Airparif, responsible for analyzing air quality in the capital and its surroundings, has noted a clear improvement over the last 15 years. It's good news to put into perspective, but it certainly warms the heart!

We know that the capital is slightly asphyxiated. Whether it’s due to transportation, industrial fumes, or human factors, there are plenty of pollution sources, and that’s not great news for our little lungs. However, over the past few years, it seems that, while not perfect, the air quality is improving more and more. This is certainly the observation made by Airparif over the last decade—and even a bit more—and this news brings us joy.


Less exposure for Parisians

The latest report published by Airparif for 2023 (the 2024 report hasn’t been released yet) is more than positive, no one can argue with that. According to the organization, the concentration levels of all the pollutants are decreasing.

;regulations (nitrogen dioxide, fine particles, benzene, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide…) are decreasing. Well, except for ozone, which has been stagnating for years, but we won’t let that spoil the fun!

As a result, there were only 10 pollution alerts throughout the entire year, marking the lowest number of red days in the last 10 years. And even better, there has been a significant decrease in the number of Parisians whose health is at risk due to pollutants in the air. While there were 1.3 million people exposed to nitrogen dioxide in 2017, this number has dropped to a mere 5,000 in 2023, which brings us so much joy. Even more wonderfully, the capital and its surroundings no longer have a single person exposed to an excessive amount of fine particles.


Is this improvement destined to end?

However, once again, while we note a truly positive evolution in air quality over the skies of the capital — e ;volution for which we can undoubtedly thank Anne Hidalgo, at least in part — the road is still long before the air in Paris becomes 100% breathable. While the levels of pollutants have fallen back below accepted thresholds, those thresholds were set in 2008 and are currently under revision by the European Parliament.

It is therefore very likely that they will be revised upward in the coming months, to take effect in 2030, plunging the Île-de-France back into the red in quite a dramatic way. The number of victims from overexposure to overly polluted air could rise from a cute 5,000 to an impressive 4.5 million based on the rates currently mentioned, or even to a huge and dramatic 10.3 million, if Parliament decides to follow the recommendations of the WHO. This just goes to show, one should never celebrate victory too soon…