The European Environment Agency (EEA) highlights the disastrous consequences of air pollution, responsible for the death of 1,200 children and adolescents per year, in a report published on Monday.
- Air pollution causes more than 1,200 premature deaths per year among children under 18 in Europe and significantly increases the risk of disease during their lifetime.
- In 2021, 97% of the European urban population was exposed to air that did not comply with WHO recommendations.
- Worldwide, air pollution is the cause of seven million premature deaths a year, a balance close to smoking or poor diet.
In Europe, air pollution causes at least 1,200 premature deaths per year among children and adolescents. This is the impressive figure contained in a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA), unveiled on Monday April 24 and relayed by theAFP. “Air pollution causes more than 1,200 premature deaths per year among children under 18 in Europe and significantly increases the risk of diseases during their lifetime”can we read in this EEA report.
As for adults, this pollution is the main environmental risk to the health of minors and reduces their life expectancy, according to this study covering some thirty countries on the continent, including the 27 EU Member States.
The air in Eastern and Central Europe is particularly polluted
“Despite progress over the past years, the level of several of the main air pollutants persists to remain above the recommendations of the World Health Organization, in particular in central and eastern Europe. , as well as in Italy”points out the organization dependent on the European Union.
The Po plain in Italy, the areas close to large coal-fired power plants as well as the large cities in the center and east of the continent are regularly singled out for their poor air quality. Note that some European countries – including the United Kingdom or Ukraine – are not part of the study, suggesting that the continental balance sheet is actually even worse.
According to another report published by the EEA in November, at least 238,000 people – of all ages – died prematurely in 2020 in Europe due to air pollution in the member countries of the agency (European Union, Turkey , Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein).
The effects of air pollution begin before birth
Even if the proportion of children and adolescents affected by air pollution is “relatively low” compared to the population as a whole, the latter “represents a loss of potential future as well as a significant burden of chronic disease both in childhood and later in life”, underlines the AEE. The agency advises focusing on air quality around schools and nurseries, as well as sports facilities and public transport.
The effects of pollution begin before birth, maternal exposure “being linked to low birth weights and premature births”, underlines the environmental agency. After birth, ambient pollution increases the risk of several health problems, including asthma – which affects 9% of children and adolescents in Europe – or respiratory insufficiency and infections, the agency also points out.
These effects are compounded by the fact that children are more physically active than adults and that their small size brings them closer to pollution, especially car exhaust.
Fine particles: 97% of the city population is exposed
In 2021, all ages combined, 97% of the European urban population was exposed to air that did not comply with WHO recommendations, according to the latest data released on Monday. In its November report, however, the EEA noted that the European Union was on track to meet its target of reducing premature deaths by more than 50% by 2030 compared to 2005.
At the beginning of the 1990s, fine particles caused almost a million premature deaths in the 27 countries of the EU. In 2005, 431,000 people still died from it, according to agency data.
Air pollution causes 7 million premature deaths a year
However, the European situation remains generally better than elsewhere on the planet: according to the WHO, air pollution is the cause of seven million premature deaths per year in the world, a balance close to that caused by smoking or poor diet. Several hundred thousand of these deaths concern children under 15, according to the UN organization.
These heavy assessments had led it in September 2021 to establish more restrictive limits for the main air pollutants, for the first time since 2005. The most serious air pollution comes first from fine particles, which penetrate deep into the lungs. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) follow, according to health agencies.