The Guardian
Guardian investigation finds 98% of Europeans breathing highly damaging polluted air linked to 400,000 deaths a year.
Europe is facing a “severe public health crisis”, with almost everyone across the continent living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution. (...)
> Europe’s pollution divide: see how your area compares
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Only 2% of Europeans breathe air within WHO guidelines for fine particulate pollution, with 30 million living in areas four times over those limits. Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images.
reveals a dire picture of dirty air, with 98% of people living in areas with highly damaging fine particulate pollution that exceed World Health Organization guidelines. Almost two-thirds live in areas where air quality is more than double the WHO’s guidelines. (...)
Eastern Europe is significantly worse than western Europe, apart from Italy. (...)
Close to 30 million Europeans are living in areas with small particle concentrations that are at least four times the WHO guidelines. (...)
Traffic, industry, domestic heating and agriculture are the main sources of PM2.5 and the impact is often felt disproportionately by the poorest communities. (...)
But experts say urgent action needs taking now. They point to a growing body of evidence that shows air pollution affects almost every organ in the body and is linked to a huge range of health problems from heart and lung disease to cancer and diabetes, depression and mental illness to cognitive impairment and low birth weight.
One recent study found air pollution was responsible for 1 million stillbirths a year, another that young people living in cities already have billions of toxic air pollution particles in their hearts. (...)
resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.
“These deaths are preventable and the estimate does not include millions of cases of non-fatal diseases, years lived with disability, attributable hospitalisations, or health effects from other pollutants.” (...)
“This is the best data that there is available at the moment … Now we need politicians to be bold and ambitious and take the necessary urgent steps to tackle this crisis.”
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Tags: #pollution #air_pollution #traffic #industry #domestic_heating #agriculture #small_particles #health #pm2.5 #public_health_crisis #who
