{"id":120436,"date":"2026-06-22T00:01:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T22:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/?p=120436"},"modified":"2026-06-19T16:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T14:42:32","slug":"heatwaves-fuel-dangerous-smog-across-europe-as-civil-society-calls-for-methane-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/heatwaves-fuel-dangerous-smog-across-europe-as-civil-society-calls-for-methane-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Heatwaves fuel dangerous smog across Europe as civil society calls for methane cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

22\u00a0June 2026, Brussels \u2013 Parts of Europe are suffering through the second heatwave of the year leading to dangerous spikes in ground-level ozone pollution with devastating consequences for human and environmental health, warns the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) \u2013 Europe\u2019s largest network of environmental NGOs.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Extreme temperatures have serious health repercussions but the impacts of a photochemical smog, which forms\u00a0as a result of\u00a0ground-level ozone pollution,\u00a0remains\u00a0little known. In 2022, exposure to ozone pollution, driven\u00a0largely by\u00a0methane from industrial agriculture practices, led to an estimated 70,000 premature deaths and \u20ac2 billion in crop losses across the EU [1].\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As scientists warn\u00a0of\u00a0a \u2018super El Ni\u00f1o\u2019\u00a0this summer\u00a0\u2013 a natural phenomenon that occurs every few years and pushes up global temperatures\u00a0[2]\u00a0–\u00a0ozone levels are already breaching EU air quality standards (anything above 120 mg\/m3) and endangering human lives.\u00a0Heatwaves\u00a0exacerbate\u00a0the problem, leading to breaches of the alarm level threshold (beyond the 240 mg\/m3). Current health protection measures set a maximum daily eight-hour mean of 120\u202fmicrograms per cubic metre (\u00b5g\/m<\/span>3<\/span>) not to be exceeded more than 18 times per calendar year [3]. In 2024, 77.4% of EU measuring stations exceeded this limit [4]. This rose to 85.4% in 2025, with the Lombardy region of Italy one of the hardest hit regions, with EEB member Legambiente Lombardia reporting 6 alarm breaches by June 2025, as reported by EEB in 2025 [5].<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This year,\u00a0Legambiente\u00a0Lombardia\u00a0already raised the alarm in May as the Po Valley experienced dangerous breaches of the EU threshold [6].\u00a0The\u00a0toll that\u00a0methane and ozone\u00a0is having\u00a0can be explored\u00a0across Member States\u00a0in this interactive map released by\u00a0Ricardo\u00a0in February 2026\u00a0[7].<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Luc Powell, Senior Policy Officer for Air Quality and Agriculture at the EEB, said:\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce again\u00a0dangerous spikes in\u00a0ground-level\u00a0ozone pollution,\u00a0fuelled by heatwaves, are\u00a0sweeping across the continent.\u00a0The resulting\u00a0photochemical smog chokes the air we\u00a0breath, damages crops, and places\u00a0additional\u00a0pressure on already stressed ecosystems.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

As a major driver of ozone, reducing methane is one of the fastest and cost-effective ways to cut pollution and cool the planet. Yet intensive agriculture, the main source of methane emissions, is still given a free pass to pollute. The EU currently has a key opportunity to act on methane and clean our air, protect health, and slow climate breakdown.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"

Ground-level ozone pollution, Brussels 19-22 June 2026, from The Copernicus Programme<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The source<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ozone is formed when pollutants such as methane react with nitrogen oxides (NOX) in the presence of sunlight. While the exact mix of responsible pollutants is complex, the latest report by Ricardo\u00a0identifies\u00a0methane as\u00a0being responsible for\u00a035\u201337% of harmful ground-level ozone [8], making it a critical target for air quality improvement. Unlike other pollutants, the EU lacks binding targets to reduce methane from agriculture (responsible for 57% of emissions) which undermines both climate ambition and efforts to tackle air pollution.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Civil society calls for action\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Methane is currently excluded from the National Emission reduction Commitments (NEC) Directive and the Gothenburg Protocol (which mirrors the NEC Directive at UNECE level), ignoring a major opportunity to recognise the role methane plays in ozone formation and support efforts to reduce emissions. With negotiations ongoing, the EU has an opportunity to protect public health and tackle the climate crisis by putting in place targets to reduce methane emissions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To support a reduction of methane emissions in agriculture, civil society urges policymakers to protect public health by introducing targets and supporting farmers in their efforts a shift to agroecological practices with a focus\u00a0to:\u00a0reduce numbers and density of farmed animals; improve manure and feed management; and better irrigation management in rice paddies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

ENDS\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Notes for editors\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

[1] European Environment Agency:\u00a0<\/span>Methane, climate change and air quality in Europe: exploring the connections<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0<\/span>Potentially historic El Ni\u00f1o to come, analysis shows humanitarian toll<\/span><\/a>: Based on June 2026 seasonal climate forecasts, contributing to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, an El Ni\u00f1o occurrence this year is\u00a0virtually certain.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] Copernicus:\u00a0<\/span>Europe affected by early episodes of Ozone pollution<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] European Environment Agency:\u00a0<\/span>April 2026 report on Ozone – O\u2083<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] EEB press release:\u00a0<\/span>Ozone onslaught across Southern Europe continues with six alarm threshold spikes already this year<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Legambiente\u00a0Lombardia:\u00a0<\/span>Clima ed emissioni: con il caldo anticipato arriva prima anche lo smog fotochimico<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[7]\u00a0<\/span>Methane Matters Interactive map:\u00a0<\/span>Explore methane emissions levels and impacts of ozone concentrations across Member States<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

[8]\u00a0Methane Matters:\u00a0<\/span>Economic impacts of O3 exposure<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo by Richard Vanlerberghe<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

22\u00a0June 2026, Brussels \u2013 Parts of Europe are suffering through the second heatwave of the year leading to dangerous spikes in ground-level ozone pollution with devastating [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90,"featured_media":120439,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Tuscany-heatwave-Rrichard-vanlerberghe-JImWptnMXBo-unsplash.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/90"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eeb.org\/hr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}