EEA: Cleaner air could have saved 178 000 lives across EU

Air pollution is one of the most important environmental threats to human health, killing seven million people annually worldwide. However, figures are improving, states the European Environmental Agency (EEA) in a recent report ‘Health impacts of air pollution in Europe’.

Air pollution – and especially the presence of fine particles in the air – caused about 6 500 premature deaths in Belgium in 2019. In the whole of Europe, 307 000 people died before their time. However, 11,3% less in one year. Most air pollution victims fell in Germany (53 800), followed by Italy (49 900), and France (29 800). The highest figures per capita were registered in Poland.

Three key polluting substances

Apart from the premature deaths caused by particle matter of 2,5 micrometers in diameter (PM 2,5), another 750 people in Belgium died from nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and 270 by ozone (O3)pollution. In the European Union, this was 307 000 (PM 2,5), 40 400 (NO2), and 16 800 (O3).

Belgium still exceeds the limit for unhealthy air pollution set in 2010. According to the European Commission, air pollution costs Belgian health care at least 8 million euros annually, or 725 euros per Belgian citizen.

According to the study, 178 000 lives (58%) could have been saved theoretically if all the EU member states would have met the recently introduced (stricter) WHO’s air quality standards. In Belgium alone, about 3 500 lives could have been saved (54%). The most frequent causes of premature death are cardiovascular diseases and strokes. Other pollution-related diseases are respiratory diseases and lung cancer.

‘Fundamental human right’

“Investing in cleaner heating, mobility, agriculture, and industry delivers better health, productivity, and quality of life for all Europeans and especially for the most vulnerable,” said Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director.

“To breathe clean air should be a fundamental human right. It is a necessary condition for healthy and productive societies. Even with improvements in air quality over the past years, we still have a long way to go to achieve the levels in the new WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines,” said WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge.

Closer alignment with WHO guidelines

The EEA briefing is published just ahead of the EU Clean Air Forum, which will take place on 18 and 19 November 2021. The Forum brings together decision-makers, stakeholders, and experts to reflect on the development and implementation of effective European, national, and local air policies, projects, and programs – and to inform about the ongoing revision of EU rules, including their closer alignment with the WHO air quality guidelines.

EEA data, published earlier this autumn, showed that air pollution levels remain above the EU legal limits in most European countries.

Positive trend

There is a slightly positive evolution, though. At the beginning of the nineties, fine particles in the air were responsible for almost a million premature deaths in the 27 EU member states. In 2005, this figure had already declined to 450 000.