Air pollution is becoming one of the main, and perhaps even the main, risk factor for premature deaths in EU countries, warns the European Environment Agency, publishing a report on the health effects of poor air quality.
Smog worse than a pandemic
Published Nov. 25, 2022 10:25
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The data on premature deaths are alarming - in 2020, due to poor air quality, 238,000 were recorded in 27 countries of the community, more than in 2019 (231,000), although air quality throughout the EU has improved. This may be due to two reasons: firstly, the correlation with the COVID-19 pandemic (smog, polluted air worsen the prognosis in the course of this disease, as well as other respiratory diseases - and not only). Secondly, air quality is not improving uniformly: first of all, Central and Eastern Europe (primarily Poland) and the Balkan countries have a lot of work to do in this regard.
Regarding PM2.5, the highest absolute numbers of premature deaths in 2020 were recorded in Italy (56,300), Poland (36,500), Germany (28,900), Romania and Spain (when counting population, Poland would hold second place, but the distance to Italy would be short, while Germany would fall out of the top five twice as big as Poland).
The lowest relative health impact due to exposure to PM2.5 was observed in countries located in the north and north-west of Europe, including Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Estonia - on the one hand, the reason is unmistakable concern for the environment, on the other the other - geographical location and the power of nature.
The authors of the report point out that the health effects of polluted air are not only premature deaths, but also higher morbidity. - People are living with diseases related to exposure to air pollution; This is a burden in terms of personal suffering as well as a significant cost to the healthcare sector. And they calculate: in 2019, exposure to PM2.5 led to 175,702 years of life with a disability (YLD) in the EU due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Pollution also increases the incidence of for diabetes.
On the EU-27 map, Poland is one of the countries with the darkest - nomen omen - colors. The situation is worse than in Poland only in Bulgaria (when it comes to EU countries, because outside the EU, even more dramatic statistics on the impact of polluted air on health are recorded in the Balkan countries, including Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina). The Polish balance sheet for 2020 is: 36,500 premature deaths and 415.7 thousand years of life lost.
The full report with an interactive map can be found on the EEA website: Health impacts of air pollution in Europe, 2022 - European Environment Agency (europa.eu)
