Air that is "within the standard" today will,
once the rules change, soon exceed it several times over

Air pollution is no longer just a public health issue — it is also a growing legal and financial risk for local authorities.

500,000

deaths a year in the EU as a result of poor air quality (European Environment Agency)

7 million

deaths a year worldwide caused by air pollution (WHO)

4 groups

pregnancy, children, adults and older people — each faces different, documented health risks

Health impact across age groups

Pregnancy

low birth weight

Children

asthma, slower lung development, developmental problems

Adults

coronary heart disease, stroke, lung cancer

Older people

dementia, heart attack, heart failure

Avoidable deaths (PM2.5 + NO2) — selected Polish cities

City	Average annual concentration (µg/m³)	Air meeting WHO guidelines	Cleanest air in Europe
Upper Silesia (GZM)	41.7	1,739	2,593
Warsaw	46.7	1,494	2,174
Kraków	38.1	568	856
Łódź	39.5	538	953
Wrocław	35.9	388	661
Poznań	40.8	243	482

The victims of poor air quality are not only a personal tragedy, but also a huge burden on budgets and a serious social problem

Source: Barcelona Institute for Global Health; European Commission.

Stricter standards — Ambient Air Quality Directive (from 1 January 2030)

Source: Europe's air quality status 2022, EEA

Parameter	Period	Current EU level	AAQD from 2030	WHO guidelines
PM10	24 h	50 µg/m³ (up to 35×/year)	45 µg/m³ (up to 18×/year)	45 µg/m³ (3–4×/year)
PM10	year	40 µg/m³	20 µg/m³	15 µg/m³
PM2.5	24 h	no standard	25 µg/m³ (up to 18×/year)	15 µg/m³ (3–4×/year)
PM2.5	year	20 µg/m³	10 µg/m³	5 µg/m³

The directive brings EU standards closer to WHO recommendations (especially for daily values), but annual values still remain markedly more lenient than the WHO guidelines. At the same time, the AAQD gives residents an explicit right to take the authorities to court over air quality and to claim compensation.

How the assessment of air quality in Poland is changing

The same 2024 PM2.5 data (µg/m³) assessed against the current standards (green map) and against the standards applicable from 2030 (red-and-orange map).

Map of Poland: air quality (PM2.5) under the current 2024 standards and under the 2030 standards

Source: GIOŚ (Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection).

Current standards

4 / 138

at present, only four stations fail to meet the standard in force in Poland

AAQD from 2030

131 / 138

from 1 January 2030, 131 GIOŚ (Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection) stations — 95% of those in operation — will show exceedances of the new annual standard

WHO guidelines

138 / 138

even today, every station exceeds the annual average level recommended by the WHO

Data on average annual PM2.5 concentrations for 2024 (138 stations). Source: report of the Supreme Audit Office of Poland (NIK, Kraków branch, P/24/069) based on GIOŚ data.

A common myth

Electromobility alone will not solve the problem

Electric buses, up to seven tonnes heavier, generate more dust from tyre wear and from faster deterioration of the road surface. True, they have no exhaust pipes — but the same harmful substances are released into the atmosphere through the chimney of the power station that produces their electricity. And with Poland's energy mix, CO2 emissions stay at almost the same level. Switching to electric buses also has no effect on the pollution generated by other road users. EXEL, by contrast, reduces the damage done not only by the bus itself, but by any vehicle travelling on city roads. And it turns any public transport vehicle into a pollution vacuum cleaner, regardless of its drive, weight or year of manufacture.

See how EXEL responds to these challenges

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Air purification systems
for all traffic-related pollution.

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Contact EXEL Air Tech Sp. z o.o. Aleja Katowicka 113, 05-830 Kajetany, Poland Tel. +48 600 639 142