Population exposure to multiple air pollutants and its compound episodes in Europe

Air pollution remains as a substantial health problem, particularly regarding the combined health risks arising from simultaneous exposure to multiple air pollutants. However, understanding these combined exposure events over long periods has been hindered by sparse and temporally inconsistent monitoring data. Here we analyze daily ambient PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂ and O₃ concentrations at a 0.1-degree resolution during 2003-2019 across 1426 contiguous regions in 35 European countries, representing 543 million people. We find that PM10 levels decline by 2.72% annually, followed by NO₂ (2.45%) and PM_2.5 (1.72%). In contrast, O₃ increase by 0.58% in southern Europe, leading to a surge in unclean air days. Despite air quality advances, 86.3% of Europeans experience at least one compound event day per year, especially for PM_2.5-NO₂ and PM_2.5-O₃. We highlight the improvements in air quality control but emphasize the need for targeted measures addressing specific pollutants and their compound events, particularly amidst rising temperatures.