A new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) has found that exposure to air pollution resulted in more than 400,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2016.
Although the report states that Europe’s air is getting cleaner, it also admits that pollution persists in cities, which is damaging people’s health.
According to the EEA, urban dwelling Europeans are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed health-based air quality guidelines set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The research was undertaken at 4,000 monitoring stations across Europe.
The three main pollutants are particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone. According to the EEA report, fine PM caused about 412,000 premature deaths in 41 countries in 2016.
The report goes on to state that poor air quality also causes economic loss, through higher healthcare costs, reduced yields from agriculture and forestry, and lower labour productivity.
Karmenu Vella, EU commissioner for environment, maritime affairs and fisheries, said: “It is simply unacceptable that any of us should need to worry about whether the simple act of breathing is safe or not. We therefore need to work even harder to make sure our air quality standards are met everywhere.”
However, the same EEA report also found that binding regulations and local measures are in fact improving Europe’s air quality and generating positive health effects. For example, fine PM caused about 17,000 fewer premature deaths in Europe in 2016 compared to 2015.
According to WHO guidelines, long-term fine PM concentrations were too high at 69% of monitoring stations across Europe in 2017.
Hans Bruyninckx, EEA executive director, said: “Europe now has a unique opportunity to set an ambitious agenda that tackles the systemic causes of environmental pressures and air pollution.
“We are making progress but it’s time to speed up the changes in our energy, food and mobility systems to put us on a trajectory of sustainability and a healthy environment.”
