Almost every individual in Europe is being exposed to hazardous levels of air pollution, according to a new investigation by The Guardian
Europe is facing a “severe public health crisis”, an investigation by the Guardian has uncovered.
The analysis, which utilises advanced techniques such as satellite imagery and data from 1,400 ground monitoring stations, reveals a dire picture of polluted air.
It shows that 98% of Europeans live in regions with significantly damaging fine particulate pollution levels that exceed the World Health Organisation’s recommendations.
Additionally, almost two-thirds of the population live in areas where the air quality surpasses the WHO’s guidelines by more than twice the recommended limits.
Which areas are being hit the hardest?
North Macedonia is the hardest-hit European nation; almost two-thirds of its population live in regions surpassing the World Health Organisation’s PM2.5 guidelines by more than fourfold.
Four specific areas, including the capital city of Skopje, record air pollution levels nearly six times higher than the recommended limits.
Eastern Europe, except Italy, faces more severe air pollution issues than Western Europe. According to a Guardian collaboration with pollution experts in Italy, over a third of those living in the Po Valley and nearby northern regions breathe four times the recommended level of the most harmful airborne particles.
The measurements focus on PM2.5, tiny particles largely generated from fossil fuel combustion. These particles can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream, affecting various organs.
The current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines set an annual average PM2.5 concentration limit of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.
The analysis revealed that only 2% of Europe’s population lives in areas meeting this limit. Experts estimate that PM2.5 pollution is responsible for approximately 400,000 annual deaths across the continent.
“What we see quite clearly is that nearly everyone in Europe is breathing unhealthy air,” said Roel Vermeulen, a professor of environmental epidemiology at Utrecht University who led the team of researchers across the continent that compiled the data.
“What we see quite clearly is that nearly everyone in Europe is breathing unhealthy air,”
What the data revealed:
- Nearly all residents in Eastern European countries (Serbia, Romania, Albania, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary) face air pollution levels twice the WHO recommendations.
- Germany has three-quarters of its population exposed to air quality, twice the WHO guidelines, while Spain and France have 49% and 37% of their populations in the same situation.
- In the UK, three-quarters of the population live in areas with air quality between one and two times the WHO recommendations, with nearly a quarter exceeding those guidelines.
- About 30 million Europeans live in areas with PM2.5 levels at least four times the WHO guidelines.
Air pollution has become a pressing concern in Europe, prompting the EU to face increasing pressure to address this public health crisis. Recently, the European Parliament voted to adopt the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) PM2.5 guidelines by 2035. This law, still pending finalisation through council negotiations, would establish a legally binding limit of 5 micrograms per cube meter for annual PM2.5.
The future impact of toxic air
Experts stress the need for immediate action; they link evidence of air pollution to health issues, including heart and lung disease, cancer, diabetes, mental health problems, cognitive impairment, and low birth weight.
Recent research found that air pollution contributes to 1 million stillbirths annually and that young city residents carry billions of toxic air particles in their hearts.
Dr. Hanna Boogaard, a European air pollution expert at the US Health Effects Institute, emphasises the importance of this new analysis in shaping discussions about air pollution’s devastating impact, which results in hundreds of thousands of deaths each year across the continent.
