New Directions : The future of European urban air quality monitoring
Résumé
Air quality, especially in urban areas, deteriorated with the industrial revolution and the following centuries. It is only during the last 60 years, following e.g. the infamous London smog episode (1952), that the health impacts of air pollution have been recognised and acted upon. In the developed world, abatement strategies and closure of major industries have led to significant air quality improvements (Harrison, 2004, Lamarque et al., 2010, Monks et al., 2009, Smith et al., 2011 and Tørseth et al., 2012). However, current air pollution levels in Europe and North America have still important short-term (Samoli et al., 2008) and long-term health effects (Beelen et al., 2013, Pope et al., 2009 and Raaschou-Nielsen et al., 2013) including increases in mortality and corresponding decreases in life expectancy, as well as effects on respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity (WHO REVIHAAP project, 2013). The evaluation of current research within the Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) process has clearly shown that investments in further air quality improvements will have a beneficial return financially, in terms of population health, environmental improvements and in quality of life (Bell et al., 2011, EEA, 2007 and Pascal et al., 2013). This is similarly seen in the USA (Esworthy, 2013) and supported e.g. by the results of Parrish et al. (2009) in mega-cities across the world...