Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

42 Chapter 2: Air Figure 2.4  Map showing the network of 115 air quality monitoring stations Air Quality Monitoring Station Local National 3 All are available on the air pages of www.epa.ie and on www.airquality.ie (both accessed 28 May 2024). National ambient air quality monitoring and modelling The EPA, in partnership with other national bodies, monitors air pollutants across the National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network. The monitoring network has almost quadrupled in size since 2017 from 29 stations to the current network of 115 stations (Figure 2.4) in 2024. Pollutants monitored include PM 10 and PM 2.5 , NO 2 , ground level O 3 , SO 2 , CO, benzene, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The EPA makes real-time monitoring information available online (www.epa.ie and www.airquality.ie) . It provides public information based on the Air Quality Index for Health, developed in conjunction with the Health Service Executive (HSE). Modelling concentrations of air quality across the country improves our ability to understand and manage air pollution. High-resolution models provide maps essential to understanding air pollution and exposure across the country. These models are produced under the EPA’s LIFE Emerald project (EPA, 2023a) and from previous modelling focused on Dublin (EPA, 2019). Such maps have been used as part of the LIFE Emerald project to review the effectiveness of national plans and our monitoring network, while also informing an assessment of national health impacts and improving our ability to highlight areas with high emission levels. Such models will be key to highlighting current and potential future air pollutant concentrations across Ireland, assessing strategies to reduce emissions while also maximising the co-benefits of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by targeting areas where air pollution is also an issue. The EPA’s LIFE Emerald project has also developed an air quality forecast (Topic Box 2.2) and hourly updated Air Quality Index for Health maps. 3 Building on previously published modelling scenarios (EPA 2019, 2023a), new annual air quality maps will be provided to show the annual average air quality for all areas.