M/612 - Ambient Air Modelling
Ambient Air - Modelling quality objectives
Mandate M/612 requests the development of European standards focused on establishing quality objectives for ambient air modelling. These standards aim to ensure consistency, reliability, and accuracy in the methods and tools used for modelling ambient air quality across the EU. The objective is to support environmental monitoring, assessment, and policy-making by providing harmonised criteria and guidelines that enhance the comparability of air quality data and modelling results, thereby contributing to improved air quality management and protection of public health and the environment.
Purpose
The mandate M/612 on "Ambient Air - Modelling quality objectives" aims to establish standardized quality objectives for ambient air modelling. This is intended to ensure consistency, reliability, and comparability of air quality models used within the European Union for monitoring and managing ambient air pollution.
Standardisation request
The mandate requests the development of European standards that define quality criteria and objectives for modelling ambient air. These standards should address the methodologies, data requirements, validation processes, and performance indicators necessary to achieve accurate and credible air quality modelling outcomes.
Expected deliverables
The deliverables under this mandate are likely to include:
- A set of harmonized standards specifying quality objectives for ambient air modelling.
- Guidelines and protocols for model selection, implementation, and validation.
- Criteria for data quality and model evaluation procedures to ensure reliability.
- Recommendations for improving model transparency and reproducibility in air quality assessments.
Context
Ambient air quality modelling is a critical tool for environmental policy, regulatory compliance, and public health protection in the EU. Standardising quality objectives helps align modelling practices across Member States, supports the implementation of EU air quality directives, and promotes the effective use of models in assessing pollutant dispersion and exposure risks. This mandate reflects the EU’s commitment to ensuring high-quality environmental data and science-based decision-making.
This mandate covers the standardisation of ambient air quality modelling. It focuses on establishing quality objectives for modelling techniques used to assess and predict ambient air pollution levels. The work targets environmental monitoring and management sectors related to air quality, supporting regulatory frameworks and decision-making processes for air quality assessment across the EU.
General Information
This document defines and describes the methodology to calculate Modelling Quality Indicators (MQI) and determine fulfilment of the Modelling Quality Objectives (MQO). MQO are provided to help ensure that modelling-based assessments of air quality in the context of the ambient air quality directive [1] are objective and comparable, and of sufficient quality to obtain reliable information about concentrations of air pollutants in ambient air. The method uses measurement uncertainty and a level of stringency as a benchmark for the acceptable level of difference between modelled and measured values.
This document concerns the performance of an entire modelling system therefore the term “modelling quality objectives” is used rather than “model quality objectives”. This document concerns the use of modelling results for assessment as specified in [2]. Such modelling systems aim to capture both the spatial and temporal variability of the environmental indicator under assessment in the modelling domain. This document establishes a method to determine if the results of a modelling system fulfil the MQO and therefore reach an adequate data quality level within the modelling domain defined for assessment.
The procedures described in this document are limited in scope as they concern only statistical performance indicators. A full evaluation of a modelling system considers additional elements of quality assurance, but such procedures are outside the scope of this document.
This document only addresses modelling applications where measurements of pollutant concentrations are available that meet the data requirements for the validation defined in this document. This document specifies MQO that are applicable to all concentration ranges that may occur in ambient air. In the context of this document, MQI and MQO are specified for:
- daily and annual averaged concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less or equal to 2,5 µm (PM2.5);
- daily and annual averaged concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less or equal to 10 µm (PM10);
- hourly, daily and annual averaged concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2);
- maximum daily 8-hour mean and seasonal averaged concentrations of ozone (O3);
- hourly, daily and annual averaged concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2);
- maximum daily 8-hour mean and daily averaged concentrations for carbon monoxide (CO);
- annual averaged concentrations for benzene (C6H6);
- annual averaged concentrations for lead (Pb);
- annual averaged concentrations for arsenic (As);
- annual averaged concentrations for cadmium (Cd);
- annual averaged concentrations for nickel (Ni);
- annual averaged concentrations for benzo[a]pyrene (BaP).
This document addresses competent authorities, research institutions, consultants, or other bodies responsible for the performance of air quality modelling when applied for assessment purposes.
NOTE Fulfilment of MQO is either normative or informative, depending on the quality of information used to determine the uncertainty parameters and stringency factors set out in this document.
- Technical specification45 pagesEnglish languagee-Library read for1 day
This document defines and describes the methodology to calculate Modelling Quality Indicators (MQI) and determine fulfilment of the Modelling Quality Objectives (MQO). MQO are provided to help ensure that modelling-based assessments of air quality in the context of the ambient air quality directive [1] are objective and comparable, and of sufficient quality to obtain reliable information about concentrations of air pollutants in ambient air. The method uses measurement uncertainty and a level of stringency as a benchmark for the acceptable level of difference between modelled and measured values.
This document concerns the performance of an entire modelling system therefore the term “modelling quality objectives” is used rather than “model quality objectives”. This document concerns the use of modelling results for assessment as specified in [2]. Such modelling systems aim to capture both the spatial and temporal variability of the environmental indicator under assessment in the modelling domain. This document establishes a method to determine if the results of a modelling system fulfil the MQO and therefore reach an adequate data quality level within the modelling domain defined for assessment.
The procedures described in this document are limited in scope as they concern only statistical performance indicators. A full evaluation of a modelling system considers additional elements of quality assurance, but such procedures are outside the scope of this document.
This document only addresses modelling applications where measurements of pollutant concentrations are available that meet the data requirements for the validation defined in this document. This document specifies MQO that are applicable to all concentration ranges that may occur in ambient air. In the context of this document, MQI and MQO are specified for:
- daily and annual averaged concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less or equal to 2,5 µm (PM2.5);
- daily and annual averaged concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less or equal to 10 µm (PM10);
- hourly, daily and annual averaged concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2);
- maximum daily 8-hour mean and seasonal averaged concentrations of ozone (O3);
- hourly, daily and annual averaged concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2);
- maximum daily 8-hour mean and daily averaged concentrations for carbon monoxide (CO);
- annual averaged concentrations for benzene (C6H6);
- annual averaged concentrations for lead (Pb);
- annual averaged concentrations for arsenic (As);
- annual averaged concentrations for cadmium (Cd);
- annual averaged concentrations for nickel (Ni);
- annual averaged concentrations for benzo[a]pyrene (BaP).
This document addresses competent authorities, research institutions, consultants, or other bodies responsible for the performance of air quality modelling when applied for assessment purposes.
NOTE Fulfilment of MQO is either normative or informative, depending on the quality of information used to determine the uncertainty parameters and stringency factors set out in this document.
- Technical specification45 pagesEnglish languagee-Library read for1 day
Frequently Asked Questions
A European Standardization Mandate is a formal request from the European Commission to the European Standardization Organizations (CEN, CENELEC, and ETSI) to develop European standards (ENs) in support of EU legislation and policies. Mandates are issued under Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 and help ensure that products and services meet the essential requirements set out in EU directives and regulations.
M/612 is a European Standardization Mandate titled "Ambient Air - Modelling quality objectives". Ambient Air - Modelling quality objectives There are 2 standards developed under this mandate.
Standards developed in response to a mandate and cited in the Official Journal of the European Union become "harmonized standards". Products manufactured in compliance with harmonized standards benefit from a presumption of conformity with the essential requirements of the corresponding EU directive or regulation, facilitating CE marking and market access across the European Economic Area.