Wood smoke regularly pushes Utrecht air over fine particulate limit
Measurements in 66 households in the Utrecht region show that wood burning adds substantially to fine particulate matter (fijnstof), the province of Utrecht says.
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Illustrative photo: FotoRieth / Pixabay Content LicenseWood smoke adds a lot of fine particulate matter to the air in the Utrecht region and regularly pushes it over the international limit, the province of Utrecht says. That is the finding of the project Samen Houtstook Meten (Measuring Wood Burning Together), carried out by TNO with the province and municipalities. The 66 households took part for several months.
The households used sensors to measure fine particulate matter in their immediate surroundings, the province says. At moments when wood smoke was detected, 18 to 27 percent of the measured concentration came from it.
During the project, the World Health Organization guideline value and the European air quality value for fine particulate matter were exceeded on forty days. According to the province, on some of those days the limits would not have been exceeded without the contribution of wood smoke.
The province calls the study a valuable addition to existing measurements. "The network of 66 sensors at residents' homes showed up local differences that a single central monitoring point would have missed," it said.
The project was meant to give insight into wood smoke and make residents more aware of its effects, the province said. It was not aimed at "pointing the finger at individual wood-burner users". The province says the results can help municipalities with their approach to wood burning, and that other municipalities are interested in a possible follow-up.
Nationally, Dutch households emitted 5.8 million kg of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in 2025, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) figures show. That is down from 7.1 million kg in 2016 and from 5.9 million kg in 2023. Household emissions fell to 5.6 million kg in 2020 and have stayed between 5.7 and 5.9 million kg since 2021.
Household fine particulate emissions have levelled off since 2020
Million kg · 2016–2025
Household fine particulate emissions have levelled off since 2020 (million kg). From 7.1 in 2016 to 5.8 in 2025; highest 7.1 in 2016, lowest 5.6 in 2020. Source: CBS.
View data
| Period | Million kg |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 7.1 |
| 2017 | 6.8 |
| 2018 | 6.6 |
| 2019 | 6.2 |
| 2020 | 5.6 |
| 2021 | 5.8 |
| 2022 | 5.8 |
| 2023 | 5.9 |
| 2024 | 5.7 |
| 2025 | 5.8 |
Source: Provincie Utrecht
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