Sweden’s zoning for air quality

Sweden has been divided into six air quality safety zones: Northern Sweden (SW1), Central Sweden (SW2), Southern Sweden (SW3), Stockholm urban area (SW4), Gothenburg urban area (SW5) and Malmö urban area (SW6). This data set describes these zones. According to the EU Air Quality Directive, air quality monitoring must take place within defined zones, covering the entire area of the country. Air quality within each zone shall be classified according to specific assessment thresholds which, together with population volumes, regulate the extent of control (e.g. the number of measuring stations requirement) to be carried out in the zone under the Directive. The responsibility for controlling air quality in Sweden lies primarily with the municipalities. However, the control is not directly linked to the six evaluation zones, but the municipalities may choose to either carry out the work themselves or cooperate with others. The zones are mainly used for the evaluation of ground-level ozone in the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s air monitoring programme and for reporting and monitoring of air quality in accordance with the requirements of the directives.