New Delhi: The Air Pollution in Europe posing a significant threat to our health and remains well above recommended World Health Organization (WHO) levels, as per the European Environment Agency (EEA).
The agency which published its assessment saying that 253,000 deaths could have been avoided in the EU, if the fine particulate matter concentrations had met WHO recommendations.
According to the latest EEA estimates, at least 253,000 deaths in the EU in 2021 were attributable to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution above the WHO recommended concentration of 5 µg/m3.
“Nitrogen dioxide pollution led to 52,000 deaths and short-term exposure to ozone led to 22,000 attributable deaths in the EU” it said.
Exposure to air pollution causes or aggravates certain diseases like lung cancer, heart disease, asthma, and diabetes according to new estimates of health impacts.
EU Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius, said that, The figures released by the EEA remind us that air pollution is still the number one environmental health problem in the EU. The good news is that clean air policy works, and our air quality is improving”
He further added that, “we need to do better still, and bring pollution levels down further. That is why the EU must quickly adopt and implement the proposal for a revised Ambient Air Quality Directive that aims to align EU air quality standards more closely with WHO recommendations”.
The EEA briefing ‘Harm to human health from air pollution in Europe: burden of disease 2023’ assessment presents the latest information, estimated for the year 2021, of the harm to human health caused by three key air pollutants: fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone.
“Between 2005 and 2021, the number of deaths in the EU attributable to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), one of the most damaging air pollutants, fell by 41%” it said.
The agency sai, “Still, air pollution continues to be the top environmental health risk to Europeans (followed by other factors such as exposure to noise, chemicals and the increasing effects of climate-related heatwaves on health), causing chronic illness and attributable deaths, especially in cities and urban areas”.
Leena Ylä-Mononen EEA Executive Director, raised concens over the air pollution and said, “While we have made great strides over past years to reduce air pollution levels, our latest data and assessment show that the impacts of air pollution on our health remains still too high, resulting in deaths and illnesses which can be attributed to air pollution.
“The positive news is that authorities at European, national and local levels are taking action to reduce emissions through measures like promoting public transport or cycling in city centres, and through updated legislation” she added.
