Pesticides in air and precipitation

Page reviewed:  03/09/2026

Data and results from precipitation and air sampling within the Swedish national monitoring program for pesticides, funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.

About the Swedish pesticide monitoiring of air and precipitation

Sampling and monitoring of precipitation in Skåne began at Vavihill (Söderåsen) in 2002, and air monitoring at the same site started in 2009. The station relocated to Hallahus (Söderåsen) in 2017. Precipitation sampling further north began in 2009 at Aspvreten, Södermanland, but was moved to Norunda, Uppland, in early 2017. The sites Vavihill (SE0011R), Aspvreten (SE0012R), and Hallahus (SE0020R) are part of the EMEP network, while Norunda is part of the ICOS network, where other studies on air and atmospheric deposition are also conducted. Both sites were chosen to represent long range transport of pesticides and not wind drift at the spraying occasion. Hence, both sites are situated in forests.

Until 2021, air samples were collected using a cartridge containing a filter and an absorbent (PUF), which were analyzed separately. This resulted in two measurements per sample. Since 2022, a new analytical method has been used in which the filter and PUF are extracted together, yielding a single result per sample.

Several of the figures and data presented below are published (in Swedish), together with data from other national air monitoring programs in the report "Nationell luftövervakning: Sakrapport med data från övervakning inom Programområde Luft t.o.m 2023"

Deposition

Line chart of annual deposition on logaritmic scale on two sites.
Annual bulk deposition of pesticides 2002-2025 at the southern site (Vavihill, from 2017 in Hallahus, Skåne) and the northern site (Aspvreten, Södermanland, and from 2017 in Norunda, Uppland).

 

Findings in precipitation

Bar plot for frequency of findings with one series per period of the most commonly found substances
Frequency of findings for the most commonly found pesticides in precipitation at the northern sites Aspvreten/Norunda, May-September from the start in 2009: shown as periods for 2009-2015, 2016-2021 and 2022-2025. Substances with more than 25% findings during at least one of the periods are included.
Bar plot for frequency of findings with one series per period of the most commonly found substances
Frequency of findings for the most commonly found pesticides in precipitation at the southern site Vavihill/Hallahus, April-October of 2002-2008, 2009-2015, 2016-2021 and 2022-2025. Substances with more than 25% findings during at least one of the periods are included.

 

Findings in air

Bar plot showing percentage from zero to hundred for the most commonly found substances in precipitation. Black line around the bar indicate that the substances is no longer allowed for use, in 2025.
Frequency of findings for the most commonly found pesticides in air at the southern site Vavihill/Hallahus, April-October of 2022-2025. Substances with more than 25% findings during at least one of the periods are included. Black line around the bar indicate that the substances is no longer allowed for use, in 2025.

 

Bar plot showing percentage from zero to hundred for the most commonly found. Green bar showing herbicides, blue bar showing fungicides, yellow bar showing insecticides, grey bar showing transformation products.
Frequency of findings for the most commonly found pesticides in air filter at the southern site Vavihill/Hallahus 2016-2021. Black frame around the bar indicate that the substances was not allowed for use in Swedish agriculture during the whole, or the majority, of the period. Substances with more than 25% findings during at least one of the periods are included.

*no longer approved for use 2024

Bar plot showing percentage from zero to hundred for the most commonly found. Green bar showing herbicides, blue bar showing fungicides, yellow bar showing insecticides.
Frequency of findings for the most commonly found pesticides in the PUF-adsorbent of air samples collected at the southern site Vavihill/Hallahus 2016-2021. Black frame around the bar indicate that the substances was not allowed for use in Swedish agriculture during the whole, or the majority, of the period. Substances with more than 25% findings during at least one of the periods are included.

*no longer approved for use 2024

Bar plot showing percentage from zero to hundred for the most commonly found. Green bar showing herbicides, blue bar showing fungicides, yellow bar showing insecticides.
Frequency of findings for the most commonly found pesticides in the PUF-adsorbent of air samples collected at the southern site Vavihill, Skåne 2009-2015. Black frame around the bar indicate that the substances was not allowed for use in Swedish agriculture during the whole, or the majority, of the period. Substances with more than 25% findings during at least one of the periods are included.

*no longer approved for use 2024

 

Download data

Monitoring data of pesticides in air (filter and/or PUF) and precipitation can be downloaded from the databse Miljödata MVM.

The national pesticide monitoring program

The program also include monitoring of surface waters, ground water and sediments in intensively monitored catchments where farmers are interviewed annualy of their use of pesticides (plant protection products).

Read about the Swedish national monitoring program of pesticides here

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