Air pollution causes 1,200 European children under the age of eighteen to die prematurely every year, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). Moreover, pollution in young people increases the risk of chronic diseases later in life. It is the first time that the EEA has carried out a study on the effects of air pollution specifically aimed at children.
The large industrial countries Russia, Ukraine and the United Kingdom are not included in the study. This means that the total death toll among children in Europe may be even higher.
The EU Environment Agency already announced last November that in 2020 in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey, a total of 238,000 people died prematurely as a result of air pollution.
Despite recent improvements, levels of airborne pollutants in many European countries continue to exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. This is especially the case in Eastern Europe and Italy.
The EEA argues that more needs to be done to protect children’s health from the effects of air pollution. According to the EU environment agency, this could be done, among other things, by improving the air quality around schools.
Damage to ecosystems
In addition to premature deaths, air pollution also damages land and water ecosystems. In 2020, the EEA identified harmful nitrogen depositions in three quarters of the total ecosystem area of the EU. In addition, in the same year, 59% of forest areas and 6% of agricultural land in Europe were exposed to harmful ozone concentrations.
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