Air pollution causes more than 100 thousand deaths in Europe every year – research – News

Air pollution caused by heating residential buildings leads to about 72 thousand deaths every year. About 35,000 more people die each year due to vehicle emissions.

Such high mortality is due to the impact of small emission particles, the diameter of which is up to 2.5 microns, according to a study published in the journal Nature. They cause cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and cancer, writes The Guardian.

Scientists reviewed data from 41 European countries and found that reducing air pollution from vehicle emissions could reduce annual excess mortality across Europe by approximately 20%, or 7,000 lives.

Reducing air pollution by emissions from heating homes will also lead to a 20 percent reduction in mortality – by 13,000 people each year.

Countries that actively use solid fuel for heating homes will benefit the most from this. So, for example, in Ukraine alone, it can save 1,000 lives, scientists say.

The new study also found that cutting emissions would reduce deaths from heart attacks, strokes and type 2 diabetes, as well as lung cancer.

“Almost half of Europe’s excess deaths linked to long-term air pollution could be avoided by phasing out fuel burning in homes and reducing emissions from road transport“, explains Dr. Niki Paisi, a member of the research group of the Center for Climate and Atmospheric Research of the Cyprus Institute.

According to data from the European Environment Agency for 2022, Europe could avoid approximately 238,000 deaths from air pollution every year if the 27 EU member states really followed the recommendations of the World Health Organization.

More than 400,000 deaths could be avoided if harmful substances did not pollute the air at all.

“Cities are still hotspots for air pollution and premature death.

Urgent action is required. They require a holistic approach that brings together many different sectors, including energy, transport, industry and agriculture“, Professor Mark Nieuwenhuysen from ISGlobal noted.

We will remind you that we previously wrote that polluted air probably contributed to the death of more than half a million people in the European Union in 2021.

The researchers named the diseases caused by polluted air as lung cancer, coronary heart disease, asthma, and diabetes.