Old cars forced off road as Europe’s clean air zones nearly double

Dirty air is the greatest environmental threat to human health, cutting life expectancy by almost two years. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

The number of clean air zones across Europe has risen 40% since 2019, forcing older and more polluting vehicles off the road, according to new research based on EU data.

Low-emission zones (LEZs) have now been introduced in 320 European city regions, and that figure is expected to rise by more than half again, to 507, by 2025.