Czech air quality was among the cleanest in a decade in 2025

Air quality in Czechia was noticeably better last year than the average for the past decade: according to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ), concentrations of most pollutants fell to their lowest or second-lowest levels since 2015 — helped in part by the shift of businesses and households to cleaner energy sources.

The institute notes that air pollution levels depend not only on the volume of emissions but also on weather and dispersion conditions. And last year was, if anything, unfavourable on that front: it was on average 0.4 degrees colder than the 2015–2024 decade, the third-driest year of that period, and conditions for dispersing pollutants were worse than usual.

Despite this, according to ČHMÚ, more than half of the monitored pollutants ended the year at their lowest or second-lowest levels for the entire observation period. These include particulate matter (dust), nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide, as well as heavy metals — with the exception of cadmium. Benzene and benzo[a]pyrene concentrations were the third-lowest since 2015.

The institute also highlighted a year-on-year drop in emissions from power plants and heating plants, including local home heating. Experts attribute this in part to the shift by businesses and households to emission-free energy sources.

Around Prague, based on reporting by ekolist.cz