dpa
Copenhagen
At least 239,000 deaths can be attributed to exposure to fine particulates in the air, the European Environment Agency (EEA) reported in its latest air quality health impact assessment published on Tuesday.
Based on figures for 2022, 70,000 deaths were attributable to ozone pollution and 48,000 to nitrogen dioxide pollution, the EEA said.
“The latest data also confirm, yet again, that Europeans remain exposed to air pollutant concentrations considerably above recommended World Health Organization (WHO) levels,” the Copenhagen-based EEA said.
The estimated values are based on epidemiological analysis, from which the statistical links between risk factors, such as particulate pollution and effects on health, such as circulatory problems, are derived.
The EEA warned about the consequences for European ecosystems. “A separate assessment also found that nearly three quarters of Europe’s ecosystems are exposed to damaging levels of air pollution,” it said.
While stricter EU air quality rules were in place, “still too many people across Europe, especially those in cities are negatively affected by poor air quality resulting in illness and premature deaths, which are largely preventable through reducing the levels of these pollutants in the environment,” EEA director Leena Ylä-Mononen said.
The wider negative impacts, damaging the health of EU ecosystems, made it even more important to redouble efforts to clean our air, she added.
The EEA did, however, note an improvement in the impact on health caused by long-term exposure to three key pollutants, fine particulates, nitrogen dioxide and ozone.
The number of deaths in the EU attributable to fine particulates had fallen by 45% between 2005 and 2022, so that the bloc was on track to achieve the 55% reduction target outlined in the EU zero pollution action plan for 2030, it said.
The publication of the data coincides with the implementation of a new EU directive aimed at improving EU air quality to bring them up to WHO standards.
