Air pollution: PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide, UK
Annual mean concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the UK, micrograms per cubic metre, at roadside, urban background and rural background monitoring sites.
PM2.5 at urban background sites
8.0 µg/m³
2025
Verified against source, 27 October 2026, 05:50 UTC- PM2.5, urban background
- PM2.5, roadside
- NO2, roadside
- NO2, urban background
- NO2, rural background
Source: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Data table
36 periods, newest first
| Period | PM2.5, urban background | PM2.5, roadside | NO2, roadside | NO2, urban background | NO2, rural background |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8.0 µg/m³ | 8.6 µg/m³ | 20.4 µg/m³ | 13.5 µg/m³ | 5.0 µg/m³ |
| 2024 | 7.2 µg/m³ | 7.5 µg/m³ | 20.7 µg/m³ | 13.1 µg/m³ | 4.7 µg/m³ |
| 2023 | 7.2 µg/m³ | 7.8 µg/m³ | 22.0 µg/m³ | 14.3 µg/m³ | 5.2 µg/m³ |
| 2022 | 8.3 µg/m³ | 8.7 µg/m³ | 23.6 µg/m³ | 15.6 µg/m³ | 6.0 µg/m³ |
| 2021 | 7.9 µg/m³ | 8.3 µg/m³ | 24.8 µg/m³ | 15.9 µg/m³ | 5.8 µg/m³ |
| 2020 | 7.9 µg/m³ | 8.1 µg/m³ | 22.9 µg/m³ | 15.1 µg/m³ | 5.5 µg/m³ |
| 2019 | 9.9 µg/m³ | 10.1 µg/m³ | 31.1 µg/m³ | 19.6 µg/m³ | 7.2 µg/m³ |
| 2018 | 9.9 µg/m³ | 10.6 µg/m³ | 32.8 µg/m³ | 20.0 µg/m³ | 7.2 µg/m³ |
| 2017 | 9.4 µg/m³ | 9.9 µg/m³ | 33.7 µg/m³ | 21.7 µg/m³ | 7.6 µg/m³ |
| 2016 | 9.8 µg/m³ | 10.9 µg/m³ | 37.6 µg/m³ | 23.3 µg/m³ | 8.7 µg/m³ |
| 2015 | 9.8 µg/m³ | 10.9 µg/m³ | 36.5 µg/m³ | 22.9 µg/m³ | 7.0 µg/m³ |
| 2014 | 12.1 µg/m³ | 12.6 µg/m³ | 38.4 µg/m³ | 24.8 µg/m³ | 8.0 µg/m³ |
| 2013 | 12.1 µg/m³ | 13.3 µg/m³ | 38.9 µg/m³ | 25.3 µg/m³ | 8.7 µg/m³ |
| 2012 | 12.6 µg/m³ | 14.1 µg/m³ | 41.4 µg/m³ | 26.6 µg/m³ | 9.7 µg/m³ |
| 2011 | 13.7 µg/m³ | 16.0 µg/m³ | 41.2 µg/m³ | 26.7 µg/m³ | 9.2 µg/m³ |
| 2010 | 13.0 µg/m³ | 14.4 µg/m³ | 46.2 µg/m³ | 31.1 µg/m³ | 9.4 µg/m³ |
| 2009 | 12.4 µg/m³ | 12.8 µg/m³ | 45.8 µg/m³ | 28.9 µg/m³ | 9.0 µg/m³ |
| 2008 | – | – | 49.9 µg/m³ | 28.0 µg/m³ | 9.0 µg/m³ |
| 2007 | – | – | 52.7 µg/m³ | 28.2 µg/m³ | 10.5 µg/m³ |
| 2006 | – | – | 54.2 µg/m³ | 31.7 µg/m³ | 10.4 µg/m³ |
| 2005 | – | – | 53.6 µg/m³ | 32.2 µg/m³ | 10.4 µg/m³ |
| 2004 | – | – | 52.2 µg/m³ | 32.2 µg/m³ | 11.2 µg/m³ |
| 2003 | – | – | 54.8 µg/m³ | 35.1 µg/m³ | 14.9 µg/m³ |
| 2002 | – | – | 49.4 µg/m³ | 32.7 µg/m³ | 12.9 µg/m³ |
| 2001 | – | – | 54.3 µg/m³ | 35.7 µg/m³ | 15.5 µg/m³ |
| 2000 | – | – | 57.3 µg/m³ | 35.9 µg/m³ | 14.0 µg/m³ |
| 1999 | – | – | 61.8 µg/m³ | 39.7 µg/m³ | 16.0 µg/m³ |
| 1998 | – | – | 59.0 µg/m³ | 40.7 µg/m³ | 14.5 µg/m³ |
| 1997 | – | – | 59.7 µg/m³ | 46.0 µg/m³ | 17.7 µg/m³ |
| 1996 | – | – | – | 47.4 µg/m³ | – |
| 1995 | – | – | – | 48.0 µg/m³ | – |
| 1994 | – | – | – | 49.0 µg/m³ | – |
| 1993 | – | – | – | 52.2 µg/m³ | – |
| 1992 | – | – | – | 59.8 µg/m³ | – |
| 1991 | – | – | – | 58.7 µg/m³ | – |
| 1990 | – | – | – | 53.8 µg/m³ | – |
Source and licence
- Publisher
- Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
- Check it yourself
- https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env02-air-quality-statistics
- Licence
- Open Government Licence v3.0 – Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
- Retrieved
- 27 October 2026, 05:48 UTC
- Raw files fetched
- https://www.gov.uk/api/content/government/statistical-data-sets/env02-air-quality-statisticsSHA-256 0060068b62aec8d0272d85053a77ed9c97e518784cad1149b280fa21d972e258 · 89,218 bytes
- https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a3b9738eaee00074150f300/fig06_pm25_annual.csvSHA-256 81de8412f851d799ccbc6bd31a33f2f6079374f72a11bd6ab05e5110f57d1e57 · 3,403 bytes
- https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a3b965deaee00074150f2fd/fig01_nitrogen_dioxide_annual.csvSHA-256 0a5d76ce3eb2d4d9cb5b42d86e3df351c46a9bd2eea4a9f1990e80e9efda55c4 · 8,916 bytes
Verification
Verified against source, 27 October 2026, 05:50 UTC Run at 27 October 2026, 05:50 UTC; 180 of 180 figures matched the live source.
| Result | Check | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Pass | Provenance recorded | Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Open Government Licence v3.0; retrieved 2026-10-27T05:48:53Z; 3 raw file(s) |
| Pass | Raw files match recorded SHA-256 | 3 of 3 files intact |
| Pass | Re-parsing raw files reproduces figures | 180 of 180 figures and the headline reproduced |
| Pass | Figures are finite numbers | 180 figures, 0 invalid |
| Pass | Live source matches every figure | 180 of 180 figures match exactly after downloading 3 source file(s) again (3 byte-identical); the headline matches |
| Pass | GOV.UK table is current | latest period 2025 ended 300 days before retrieval (limit 560), from Figure 6: Annual concentrations of PM2.5 in the UK, 2009 to 2025 |
| Pass | PM2.5 tables agree | 34 of 34 figures match the 'All stations' rows of https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a3b9bc94c7605ab567238b4/PM25_Tables_2025.ods, to 9 decimal places |
| Pass | NO2 tables agree | 94 of 94 figures match the 'All stations' rows of https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a3b9c044c7605ab567238b6/NO2_Tables_2025.ods, to 9 decimal places |
| Pass | Source page answers | https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env02-air-quality-statistics – HTTP 200 |
Notes
- The average of the annual means at every monitoring site of each type with enough readings that year, from Defra's air quality statistics. The sites measured change from year to year (Defra's roadside PM2.5 sites went from 23 in 2024 to 45 in 2025), so a change between years can partly reflect which sites are included.
- PM2.5 is measured at roadside and urban background sites since 2009; NO2 at urban background sites since 1990 and at roadside and rural sites since 1997.