Poland's air quality worsens, reversing decade-long gains
Air quality in Poland has deteriorated for a second consecutive year, signalling a reversal of the steady improvements recorded over the past decade, according to a new international report and national data.
In the "2025 World Air Quality Report" published by the Swiss company IQAir on Friday, Poland ranked 66th out of 143 countries, placing it among the more polluted nations globally. Within Europe, this is the seventh-worst result, while in the European Union only Romania performed worse.
IQAir data shows that Poland's average annual concentration of PM2.5 rose to 15.4 micrograms per cubic metre in 2025, up from 14.8 in 2024 and 14.1 in 2023. increase breaks a decade-long downward trend in pollution levels.
Domestic figures point in the same direction. According to Poland's Chief Inspectorate for Environmental Protection, 2023 was the cleanest year on record, with no exceedances of annual PM2.5 limits across the country's 46 monitored zones. However, exceedances returned in 2024, affecting four zones, and preliminary estimates for 2025 suggest this number has risen to seven.
"The rapid improvement in air quality in Poland was due, among other things, to milder winters, the Clean Air public grant scheme and high energy prices, which reduced energy consumption," said Lukasz Adamkiewicz of the European Clean Air Centre. He added that some of these favourable conditions have now weakened, contributing to the recent decline.
Experts say upcoming EU regulations and a planned national air quality bill, expected to be adopted by the end of 2026, will be crucial to reversing the trend.
"We need a fresh start in the fight against smog: comprehensive measures, consistent legislation and effective funding schemes," said Piotr Siergiej of the Polish Smog Alert movement. (PAP)
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