New online maps published by the European Commission and the European Environment Agency, in close cooperation with the Joint Research Centre, give Europeans close-up picture of air pollution from diffuse sources, such as transport and aviation.

The new set of 32 maps shows where certain pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter are released and it complements existing data on emissions from individual industrial plants from the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR). The maps allows Europeans to see on a scale of 5 km by 5 km where pollutants are released. They include details of nitrogen oxides (NOX), sulphur oxides (SOX), carbon monoxide (CO), ammonia (NH3) and particulate matter (PM10).

Launched in 2009, the E-PRTR, improve access to environmental information, contains already data reported by individual industrial facilities (point sources) and, as of today, information on emissions from road transport, shipping, aviation, heating of buildings, agriculture and small businesses (diffuse sources). These sources of pollution are widespread and/or concentrated in highly populated areas. A large number of many tiny emissions from houses and vehicles represent collectively a large, diffuse source of pollution, in particular in cities.

The new maps raise awareness about local releases of air pollutants, and allow citizens to zoom in on their own neighbourhood. In addition, air quality experts can use the data for modelling, thereby assessing the environmental consequences of local emissions. For example, the spatial distribution maps reveal large hotspots for emissions of ammonia (NH3) from agriculture in the Po Valley in Italy, in Brittany in France, and the Benelux countries. High levels of ammonia emissions harm the environment by contributing to soil and freshwater acidification and eutrophication.

The new electronic maps were presented by the European Commission and the European Environment Agency as part of the celebrations of the 'Green Week 2011', whose theme is this year: "Resource Efficiency, Using less, living better".