A persistent scourge on the Old Continent. Although the trend is improving, air pollution still causes the premature death of at least 1,200 children and adolescents every year in Europe, according to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) released Monday, April 24.
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 around thirty countries on the continent, including the 27 EU Member States. “Air pollution causes more than 1,200 premature deaths per year among under-18s in Europe and significantly increases the risk of disease later in life,” the EEA writes in its report.
“Despite progress over the past years, the levels of several major air pollutants continue to remain above World Health Organization guidelines, particularly in central and eastern Europe. , as well as in Italy”, underlines 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. Several European countries – including the UK or Ukraine – are not part of the study, suggesting that the continental record is actually grimmer.
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).
Although the share of children and adolescents affected by air pollution is “relatively small” compared to the general population, dying so early “represents a loss of potential future as well as a significant burden of chronic diseases both in childhood and later in life,” the AEE points out. The agency recommends focusing on air quality around schools and nurseries, as well as sports facilities and public transport.
Its effects begin before birth, with maternal exposure to air pollution “being linked to low birth weights and premature births,” the environmental agency said. 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 aggravated by the fact that children are more physically active than adults and that their small size brings them closer to pollution, particularly car exhaust. All ages combined, 97% of the urban population were exposed in 2021 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. In the early 1990s, the fine particles caused almost a million premature deaths in the 27 EU countries. In 2005, 431,000 people were still dying from it, according to agency data.
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 people 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.
