Evolution of urban air pollution in metropolitan France between 2008 and 2015

Background. - Air pollution is a major public health issue and remains a major concern in France and around the world. Proof of this is that air pollution is one of the first environmental concerns of the French population. The purpose of this study was to establish a system for monitoring the actual concentrations of different atmospheric pollutants observed in major French cities. Method. - For 13 major cities in Metropolitan France we collected data from the measurement stations of Air Quality Monitoring agencies for various pollutants: NO2, O-3, PM10, PM2.5. Using these data, we have produced monthly time series of these pollutants covering the period 2008-2015. We also calculated the slopes of these time series as well as the correlation coefficients. Results. - The results do not show trends that are decreasing but rather stagnating, for the air pollutants considered. Our work therefore indicates that monitoring and taking steps to reduce air pollution must be increased. (C) 2019 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.