Solid fuel burning in homes and road traffic continue to be main threats to good air quality [Video]

BURNING SOLID FUELS in homes and road traffic continue to be the “main threats to good air quality”, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s annual air quality report.

The Air Quality in Ireland 2023 report is based on results from 115 monitoring stations nationwide.

And while Ireland met the current EU air quality limits last year, it failed to meet the more stringent World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

It is a target of the Government’s Clean Air Strategy to meet interim WHO guideline limits by 2026, but the EPA warns that this is now “very challenging”.

Despite “comparing favourably with many of European neighbours”, the EPA said Ireland’s 2023 monitoring results would exceed the soon-approaching 2026 targets.

The main pollutants of concern are fine particulate matter from burning solid fuels such as wood and coal, and nitrogen dioxide from vehicle emissions.

Particulate matter levels are at their highest in the winter because of increased burning of solid fuels in fires …