New EU Air Quality Directive 2024/2881: ultrafine particles, black carbon and ammonia become mandatory – how it will change environmental monitoring in Europe and beyond

In December 2024, the European Union adopted Directive 2024/2881/EU, marking the most significant revision of ambient air quality standards in two decades. This document does more than just tighten limit values for well‑known pollutants such as PM10, PM2.5 or nitrogen dioxide. The real revolution lies elsewhere: for the first time at the EU level, three substances that have long remained in the shadows – ultrafine particles (UFP), black carbon (BC) and ammonia (NH₃) – become mandatory targets for monitoring. These changes are backed by the latest scientific evidence on the impact of air pollutants on human health and climate, as well as by advanced measurement methods enshrined in European standards EN 16976 and CEN/TS 17434.

Why traditional indicators are no longer enough

For many years, environmental regulators relied on mass concentration – micrograms per cubic metre. However, recent research has convincingly shown that this approach is insufficient to assess the real health burden. Ultrafine particles, smaller than 100 nanometres, are particularly insidious. They are so tiny that they can pass from the lungs directly into the bloodstream, cross the blood‑brain barrier and accumulate in various organs, including the brain and placenta. This is why the new directive singles out UFP as a separate category requiring continuous monitoring. Priority is given to locations where UFP concentrations are expected to be highest – seaports, airports, major road junctions, industrial sites and areas where solid fuels or biomass are burned for domestic heating.

Black carbon, often called soot, poses a double threat. On the one hand, it is a potent carcinogen and triggers respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, it is the second most important anthropogenic climate forcer after carbon dioxide: black carbon particles strongly absorb solar radiation, warming the atmosphere, and when deposited on snow and ice, they accelerate melting. Finally, ammonia is an agricultural pollutant that undergoes chemical reactions in the atmosphere with sulphur and nitrogen oxides to form secondary aerosol particles. Without controlling ammonia, even the strictest limits on industrial emissions may be ineffective, because ammonia‑derived compounds often make up a large fraction of urban smog.

The technological backbone: how the new air will be measured

To ensure that data on ultrafine particle concentrations are comparable across Europe, the directive explicitly references two technical standards. The first, EN 16976, describes the method for determining the particle number concentration – i.e., the number of particles per cubic centimetre of air, not their mass. The main instrument here is a condensation particle counter (CPC), which works by growing the smallest particles to a size that can be optically detected and counted. The second standard, CEN/TS 17434, deals with the measurement of particle size distribution in the range of 10 to 800 nanometres. It uses a mobility particle size spectrometer (MPSS), more commonly known as a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS). Such a system first classifies aerosol particles by their electrical mobility and then passes them to a condensation particle counter for counting. Together, these two methods provide a complete picture – not only the total number of ultrafine particles but also which sizes dominate at a given sampling point. In practice, EU Member States will deploy so‑called supersites – automated stations equipped with ENVI‑CPC/SMPS systems that can operate continuously and feed data into national and European databases in real time.

Deadlines and obligations for EU countries

All 27 EU Member States must transpose the provisions of the new directive into national law by 11 December 2026 at the latest. By 2030, the target values for the new pollutants must be achieved, and regular monitoring of UFP, black carbon and ammonia must be in place across the Union. Special attention is paid to the siting of monitoring stations: priority zones include transport hubs – major airports, seaports, railway stations and busy roads – as well as industrial sites and residential areas where solid fuels are used for heating. This requirement is driven by the fact that the highest concentrations of ultrafine particles are expected at such locations, and monitoring there will provide the most valuable information for policy decisions.

What this means for Central Asia

Although Directive 2024/2881/EU is legally binding only for EU Member States, its impact on Central Asia is direct and already tangible. The European Union sees air quality improvement as part of its broader European Green Deal and actively funds technical assistance projects in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The most notable initiative in this field is the WECOOP programme (Water, Environment and Climate Change Cooperation), under which European experts transfer modern monitoring methodologies to Central Asian colleagues – including those based on EN 16976 and CEN/TS 17434. In 2024‑2025, pilot stations equipped with condensation particle counters and mobility spectrometers began operation in Almaty, Bishkek and Dushanbe. These stations not only collect data for local needs but also serve as a testing ground for methods that may later be proposed for inclusion in national regulations.

Beyond direct technical assistance, there is also an economic channel of influence. Companies from Central Asia that export products to the European market – especially agricultural goods, metals and chemicals – are already facing requests to provide information on greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions. The introduction of mandatory ammonia and black carbon monitoring in the EU will sooner or later lead to these indicators being requested from foreign suppliers as well. Thus, even without formal harmonisation of legislation, economic necessity will push Central Asian countries toward adopting European standards. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have already declared their intention to bring their environmental norms closer to European ones, and the new directive gives them a clear benchmark to aim for.

The example of Almaty is telling. The city has long suffered from the so‑called “heating smog” – in the private residential sector, people burn coal and firewood, generating huge amounts of ultrafine particles and black carbon. A pilot station operating in accordance with EN 16976 methodology allowed, for the first time, a quantitative assessment of the particle number rather than just the mass. The data proved so compelling that the city authorities decided to subsidise a switch to gas heating. This is a clear illustration of how a European monitoring standard can directly influence environmental policy in Central Asia.

Russia: minimal overlap, but not complete disregard

The situation in Russia is different. The current Russian ambient air monitoring system, based on standards of Roshydromet and Rospotrebnadzor, continues to focus exclusively on the mass concentration of suspended particles. Monitoring of particle number (i.e., the number of particles per cubic centimetre) is not foreseen by any existing regulatory document. Black carbon is not on the list of substances subject to systematic monitoring, although individual scientific studies have recorded high levels near major industrial centres and highways. Ammonia is tracked only at point industrial sources, while its main source – agriculture – remains outside the scope of attention.

Moreover, Russia does not participate in EU technical assistance projects such as WECOOP, and the purchase of imported analytical equipment (condensation particle counters and mobility spectrometers) has been hampered by sanctions in recent years. All this means that direct harmonisation with Directive 2024/2881/EU is not expected in the foreseeable future.

Nevertheless, ignoring the European changes entirely would be unwise. Large Russian exporters – producers of mineral fertilisers, metals, oil and gas products – may face requests from European counterparties for data on black carbon and ammonia emissions. Although these requests are still voluntary, in the medium term they could become a condition for market access. Furthermore, transboundary pollution transport exists: air masses from western regions of Russia, including the Kaliningrad region, affect air quality in Poland, Lithuania and other Baltic countries. The directive imposes no legal obligations on Russia, but this issue may be raised within bilateral environmental agreements.

What to expect in the coming years

By 2026, all EU countries must adopt national laws implementing the directive. By 2030, the first reports on the trends of ultrafine particles, black carbon and ammonia across the Union are expected. For Central Asia, this process means a deepening of cooperation with the EU in environmental monitoring: the pilot stations in Almaty, Bishkek and Dushanbe are likely to be expanded, and the experience gained will inform new national standards. Russia, most likely, will maintain its current monitoring model, although some corporate initiatives for voluntary monitoring of the “new” pollutants may emerge – primarily among export‑oriented companies.

Thus, the new EU air quality directive is not just another change in European legislation. It is a signal to the world: the era when it was acceptable to measure only particle mass while ignoring their number, composition and size distribution is coming to an end. And the sooner countries outside Europe – especially those where air pollution is most acute – start implementing modern monitoring methods, the more lives and resources can be saved.