Urban PM2.5 exposure
Known criticisms of this statistic
Every statistic embodies method choices, and the substantive critiques of those choices are part of understanding the number. These are documented positions — each linked to who makes it. Listing a criticism is not endorsing it; we take no side.
RIVM's own reporting notes that a sizeable share of fine-particle mass — soil dust, wildfire particles and other sources — cannot be modelled for lack of process knowledge and reliable emission data, and is added to the concentration maps as a measurement-based correction instead.
— RIVM (its own GCN report), 2025 · RIVM: Grootschalige concentratiekaarten Nederland, rapportage 2025
RIVM quantifies the uncertainty itself: about 12% for the national PM2.5 average and more than 30% for a single square-kilometre cell (2 standard deviations). The national line this chart shows is far firmer than any local value derived from the same maps.
— RIVM (its own GCN report), 2025 · RIVM: Grootschalige concentratiekaarten Nederland, rapportage 2025
Source & method
| Source | RIVM manual:L1 |
|---|---|
| Human page | https://www.luchtmeetnet.nl |
| Licence | RIVM open data |
| Trend method | OLS over last 8 annual observations, 5% significance (MBW convention) |
| Revisions | None recorded since 2026-07-07. Every retrieval is stored append-only; when the source restates history, the old and new values become comparable here. |
| Pipeline notes | PIN: RIVM LML data channel (API or manual drop). |
Raw snapshot (JSON) · every observation keeps its retrieval timestamp and revision history in the public database.
Data table — Air pollution (PM2.5) (Netherlands)
| Period | Value |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 8.3 |
| 2023 | 8.7 |
| 2022 | 8.9 |
| 2021 | 9.3 |
| 2020 | 10.0 |
| 2018 | 11.2 |
| 2017 | 11.5 |
| 2016 | 12.3 |
| 2015 | 13.2 |
| 2014 | 13.6 |
| 2013 | 14.6 |
| 2012 | 15.7 |
| 2011 | 17.0 |