How does the Malopolska Region perform under the new air quality standards?

The Marshal Office of the Malopolska Region has received an additional annual air quality assessment for 2025 prepared by the Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection. The assessment was carried out to support the implementation of the new Directive (EU) 2024/2881 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the so-called AAQD Directive. The document shows how air quality in the Malopolska Region would be assessed under the new, more stringent standards that will apply across the European Union.

We have already written about the new AAQD Directive and the changes it introduces for residents and local authorities in the article “The AAQD Air Quality Directive – What Will Change for Residents?” The new regulations significantly tighten the permissible levels of the main air pollutants, bringing them closer to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The additional assessment covered the three air quality zones of the Malopolska Region: the Kraków agglomeration, the city of Tarnów, and the Malopolska zone. Under the new criteria, all three zones would exceed the limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), Particulate Matter PM10 and PM2.5, as well as the target value for benzo(a)pyrene. In the case of ozone, the target value would be exceeded in the Kraków agglomeration and the Malopolska zone.

Compared with the air quality assessment carried out under the currently applicable regulations, some zones received a lower classification. However, this does not mean that air quality in the Malopolska Region has deteriorated. The main change concerns the assessment criteria: the new standards are considerably more stringent than those currently in force, which means that the same pollutant concentrations are more likely to result in a lower classification of an air quality zone.