Fine particulate matter was responsible for around 239,000 deaths in Europe, but the burden was felt more deeply in some parts of the continent than in others.
advertisementAir pollution is a deadly public health threat, but some regions of Europe are at much higher risk than others.
Air pollution is linked to lung cancer, heart and respiratory disease, stroke, and poor birth outcomes.
It is especially dangerous for older adults, causing about 4 percent of all deaths in adults 65 and older.
In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) updated its air quality guidelines, lowering the recommended annual concentration thresholds for nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), such as dust, smoke and soot from exhaust gases.
Stricter air quality rules aimed at bringing the European Union closer to WHO standards by 2030 came into force this month, requiring member states to monitor pollutants such as fine particulate matter, black carbon and ammonia. .
The plan is “one of the biggest public health interventions in a generation,” Marc Nieuwenhuysen, director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, told Euronews Health.
According to the European Environment Agency, around 239,000 people died prematurely across Europe in 2021 due to exposure to PM2.5, and a further 48,000 due to exposure to nitrogen dioxide.
All EU member states currently report nitrogen dioxide levels above the WHO-recommended levels, but some countries are more affected by air pollution than others.
A recent report from the European Commission and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that central and eastern Europe has the highest mortality rates related to PM2.5.
Zorana Jovanovic-Andersen, professor of environmental epidemiology at the University of Copenhagen and member of the European Respiratory Society, said: “The biggest divide in Europe that we see is East and West (and this is) the difference between the two regions’ GDP and “It’s very consistent with socio-economic background.” The Environmental Health Committee told Euronews Health.
Nieuwenhuijsen’s city-level research highlights the different challenges facing different regions of Europe.
Mortality rates from PM2.5 are increasing in northern Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic, mostly due to domestic sources such as coal burning for heating in homes and the agricultural sector.
Meanwhile, NO2 mortality rates (mainly caused by motor vehicle traffic and the industrial sector) were highest in major cities and capitals in Western and Southern Europe.
“We need to control air pollution”
Some countries, such as Denmark, have taken steps to curb pollution levels, and Denmark could become the first country in the world to impose a carbon tax on livestock in 2030.
Meanwhile, the latest EU directive gives citizens with pollution-related health problems the right to go to court if their government fails to comply with EU air quality rules.
advertisementHowever, a report by the OECD and the European Commission found that although the EU is on track to reduce PM2.5-related deaths by 55% by 2030, environmental risk factors such as air pollution and climate change are “This poses an increasing threat to the United States.” ”.
That’s because scientists know more today about the health effects of air pollution, and it appears to pose a risk to people at lower levels than previously recognized. said Heusen and Andersen.
“Even if we significantly reduce air pollution levels, we don’t necessarily reduce health impacts that much,” Nieuwenhuisen said.
Air pollution may be the biggest environmental health threat facing Europe, but other factors impact human health, such as lack of green space, noise pollution and extreme heat. tend to overlap.
advertisementGiven the difficulty of solving some of these challenges, such as climate change, Andersen said it makes sense to limit air pollution in the name of protecting health.
“We are reducing air pollution, we know how to do it, and many countries are leading the way,” Andersen said.
“As new challenges arise, we need to regulate an old problem: air pollution.”
