nitrogen dioxide

Umwelt-Indikator

Indicator: Air quality in agglomerations

A graph for three air pollutants shows the extent to which the WHO recommendations from 2021 will be exceeded on average in urban areas between 2000 and 2023. The development of the various pollutants varies. Between 2000 and 2023, values for NO2 are between 172 and 31 percent, for ozone between 44 and 32 percent and for PM2.5 between 255 and 60 percent.

The basic pollution levels in German conurbations significantly exceed WHO recommendations from 2021 for particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).In the vicinity of pollutant sources, pollution levels can even be significantly higher.The situation for NO₂ and PM2.5 has improved considerably since 2000, but the WHO recommendations for 2021 are still clearly exceeded.Ozone and PM2.5 pol... read more

Air

Reactive nitrogen

Annual nitrogen inputs into the German environment – sectoral percentages of total inputs 1995-2014

Reactive nitrogen, unlike nonreactive molecular nitrogen (N2), is in a great many organic and inorganic substance compounds and of vital importance to all life processes. The availability of reactive nitrogen often limits plant growth, which is why sufficient supply of reactive nitrogen is so important in food production. If excessive amounts of reactive nitrogen are deposited to the environment,... read more

Air

Nitrogen dioxide

The main sources of the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide are combustion processes in the industrial and energy production sectors, and road transport. Nitrogen dioxide affects the respiratory mucous membrane and influences the respiratory function. read more

Air

Quick guide on how to use "Current air data" information pages

Experts at the monitoring stations of the German states and the German Environment Agency take multiple daily measurements to determine the air quality in Germany. Shortly after measurements are taken, you can go to our “Current air data” webpage to look up measured values, some forecast data, and data on past years. read more

The Umweltbundesamt

For our environment