Dataset quality · Atmo France / Airparif — French regional air quality networks

France Air Quality

Annual air quality measurements from Atmo France regional networks and Airparif (Paris). Covers NO₂, ozone exceedance days, and PM2.5 for all 13 metropolitan regions from 2004 to 2024. Includes EU legal limits and WHO guidelines as benchmarks.

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Temporal coverage — 20 years, annual resolution

Annual means from 2004 to 2024. The 2020 lockdown year is complete and validated.

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Geography — 13 metropolitan regions

All 13 metropolitan regions. DOM-TOM excluded — different regulatory frameworks and monitoring networks.

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Pollutants — NO₂, ozone, PM2.5

Three core pollutants from Atmo France regional networks. NO₂ and PM2.5 are annual means; ozone is counted as exceedance days above the 120 µg/m³ threshold.

Ozone coverage is rated Fair: rural station density varies by region, which can undercount peak episodes in lower-monitored areas.

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Benchmarks — EU limits and WHO guidelines

Two reference systems: EU legal limits (NO₂: 40 µg/m³, PM2.5: 25 µg/m³) and WHO guidelines (NO₂: 10, PM2.5: 5). The gap between them defines the policy debate.

The eu_exceedance column reflects station-level breaches, not regional averages — a region can comply on average while individual stations exceed limits on high-traffic corridors.

Stories built on this dataset