Country · Non-EU · 3 stations
United Kingdom air quality
PM2.5 averages 9.8 µg/m³ - 2.0× the WHO 2021 guideline. Above the WHO 2021 guideline but within the current EU limit.
Data updated 2026-09-01
- 9.8
- PM2.5 µg/m³ (composite)
- 2.0×
- vs WHO guideline
- 21.4
- NO2 µg/m³
- 3
- monitoring stations
EEA exposure lattice
AEI card GB United Kingdom
United Kingdom PM2.5 (editorial composite, not EEA AEI) 9.8 µg/m³ · 2.0× WHO · OVER EU-OK · rank #17/28.
- PM2.5 9.8 µg/m³
- WHO× 2.0×
- NO2 21.4 µg/m³
- RANK #17/28
- OVER EU-OK
Nearest AEI peer: Belgium (9.8 µg/m³ · OVER)
Nearest ABS AEI peers for United Kingdom; bars show annual mean PM2.5 (EEA AEI 2023), not legal compliance scores. † marks an editorial composite, not an EEA AEI value. EU vs WHO limits →
How United Kingdom compares to WHO 2021 guidelines
Annual mean as a multiple of the WHO guideline, 1.0× = at the health guideline
- NO2
NO2: 21.4 µg/m³
2.14 × WHO guideline
- PM2.5
PM2.5: 9.8 µg/m³
1.96 × WHO guideline
- PM10
PM10: 17.6 µg/m³
1.17 × WHO guideline
- O3 0.57
O3: 56.7 µg/m³
0.57 × WHO guideline
- SO2 0.04
SO2: 1.8 µg/m³
0.04 × WHO guideline
What this shows Bars above 1.0× exceed the WHO 2021 health guideline. United Kingdom's NO2 sits at 2.1× - the pollutant with the widest gap to close. The WHO levels are health-evidence guidelines, stricter than the EU's legal limits.
United Kingdom PM2.5 composite vs the EEA AEI countries
Where this country's editorial composite PM2.5 sits among the EEA Average Exposure Indicator values of every EU member state
10 16th of 28 higher than 11 of 28 countries
Countries, banded by annual mean PM2.5 (EEA AEI 2023; the UK is an editorial composite)
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source Editorial composite (UK) vs EEA Average Exposure Indicator 2023 (EU members) · 2026-09-01
11 of 28 countries in this PM2.5 comparison have a lower annual PM2.5 average. Lower means closer to the WHO 2021 health guideline of 5 µg/m³; absolute volume is not a legal compliance score.
† United Kingdom is not in EEA Air Quality Status Report 2025 Table 3, so the PM2.5 shown is an editorial composite, not an EEA Average Exposure Indicator. It is ranked for reference beside the EEA-AEI countries.
EEA country evidence profile
United Kingdom's middle-range exposure position
PM2.5 rank #17 of 28 editorial composite, not an EEA AEI value
United Kingdom's PM2.5 is an editorial composite of 9.8 µg/m³ (not an EEA Average Exposure Indicator: United Kingdom is not in EEA Table 3), or 2.0× the WHO 2021 annual guideline. Among the EU+UK countries in this dataset, 11 have a lower PM2.5 average. Its widest WHO-guideline gap is NO2 at 2.1×.
The EEA does not publish a comparable PM2.5-attributable mortality row for United Kingdom. This profile therefore does not infer a national burden estimate and shows only the editorial composite exposure figure.
Monitoring stations (3)
| Station | City | Type | Operator | Pollutants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham-Centre | Birmingham | traffic | Defra | PM25,PM10,NO2,O3 |
| London-Marylebone Road | London | traffic | Defra / Ricardo Energy & Environment | PM25,PM10,NO2,O3 |
| Manchester-Piccadilly | Manchester | background | Defra | PM25,PM10,NO2,O3 |
Health note: This page is for general information and is not medical advice. Air-quality figures are annual statistics, not real-time readings, and a clean annual average can still include unhealthy episodes. For exposure guidance, especially if you have a respiratory or cardiovascular condition, consult a healthcare professional and your national agency. See our full disclaimer.
Countries with similar EEA exposure profiles
Two EU+UK peer sets for United Kingdom. Read-with cards above stay entity-specific; these neighborhoods are nearest other countries by Average Exposure Indicator PM2.5 and by annual mean NO2.
Similar AEI PM2.5
Nearest countries by PM2.5 (9.8 µg/m³ here, an editorial composite).
Similar annual NO2
Nearest countries by annual mean NO2 (21.4 µg/m³ here), excluding the AEI peer set.
Source: EEA Air Quality Status Report 2025, AEI Table 3 (EU members' PM2.5; United Kingdom is not in that table, so its PM2.5 is an editorial composite). Mortality: EEA Burden of Disease (2022). Other country pollutant means are editorial composites. See our methodology.
Source: World Health Organization, Global Air Quality Guidelines, 2021 update.
Figures on PlainAirQuality are rendered from this site's database rather than typed into the page. Country values restate the EEA's published series and are held in our dataset pending an automated re-import; station-level values are modelled from those national means, not measured at the station. Country PM2.5 is an editorial composite, not an EEA Average Exposure Indicator (the country is not in EEA Table 3); mortality restates the EEA Burden of Disease 2022 series; country PM10/NO2/O3/SO2 means are editorial composites pending verified ingest; station-level values shown elsewhere are modelled from the national PM2.5 AEI (methodology §5b), not independently measured. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.