Environment: Rising dust pollution across Europe (Nature)
16 July 2026
Dust concentrations increased consistently across much of Europe between 2012 and 2021, with some of the largest rises in southern Europe and the Mediterranean region, according to research in Nature. This trend may be associated with changes in atmospheric circulation and long-term desertification in North Africa. The authors warn that worsening dust pollution could increasingly affect air quality and public health.
Mineral desert dust is a major component of airborne particulate matter and can harm health, including through increased risks of asthma and mortality. Although rising dust outbreaks have been reported in parts of Europe, whether this trend extends across the continent and what is driving it have been unclear.
Petros Vasilakos, Imad El-Haddad, Kaspar Daellenbach, and colleagues compiled around 18,500 daily measurements of dust-related metals (aluminium, titanium, silicon, calcium, and iron) from 103 rural and urban sites across Europe and used them to develop a machine learning model of daily dust concentrations between 2012 and 2021. They found that dust concentrations increased across most of Europe during the study period, with some of the largest increases occurring over Italy, the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea. By 2021, transported dust accounted for 31% of the World Health Organization annual PM10 (particulate matter that are 10 micrometres or smaller in diameter) guideline value in southern Europe. Here, residents experienced an average of about 46 dust episodes per year, with dust levels during these events associated with about a 0.67% increase in daily mortality.
The authors found that while dust pollution events did not become more frequent, they became more severe in parts of southern Europe. Analysis of Alpine ice cores also indicated that dust deposition has increased by around 110% since preindustrial times, suggesting a long-term rise in dust linked to increasing aridity in North Africa and changes in atmospheric circulation patterns.
The authors conclude that dust pollution may become a growing challenge for public health and air quality goals. However, they note that measurement coverage was limited in some parts of Europe, including northeastern Europe, the Balkans and Scandinavia.
- Article
- Open access
- Published: 15 July 2026
Vasilakos, P.N., Upadhyay, A., Manousakas, M.I. et al. Rising dust pollution across Europe in a changing climate. Nature 655, 647–654 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10743-w
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