Air pollution levels still too high across Europe – remains top environmental health risk
Air pollution levels still too high across Europe – remains top ... European Environment Agency
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Press release
Air pollution in Europe remains well above recommended World Health Organization (WHO) levels, posing a significant threat to our health
253,000 deaths could have been avoided in the EU if fine particulate matter concentrations had met WHO recommendations
Further measures needed to reduce air pollution and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published a new air quality health assessment highlighting the need for additional measures to reduce air pollution in Europe.
- Exposure to air pollution causes or aggravates certain diseases like lung cancer, heart disease, asthma, and diabetes.
- By reducing air pollution to WHO guideline levels, it is estimated that 253,000 deaths could have been prevented in the EU.
- Achieving clean air is crucial for achieving the SDGs, particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities).
Health impacts of key air pollutants on disease
- The EEA briefing ‘Harm to human health from air pollution in Europe: burden of disease 2023’ presents the latest information on the health impacts of 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) fell by 41%, but air pollution continues to be the top environmental health risk in Europe.
- Ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and asthma are the diseases most affected by air pollution.
Air quality app: check air data anywhere in the EU
European citizens can check real-time air quality data through different platforms, including the Air Quality Index app. The app provides hourly updated information from more than 3,500 air quality monitoring stations in Europe and comes in 24 European languages.
Note to editors
- The EEA briefing ‘Harm to human health from air pollution in Europe: burden of disease 2023’ is part of the Air quality in Europe 2023 package.
- The EEA has been estimating the number of deaths attributable to exposure to air pollution since 2014, using the recommendations from the 2021 WHO air quality guidelines.
- The health impacts of different air pollutants should not be added together to avoid double counting.
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