Residents of Southeastern European countries, such as North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania, are the most threatened by air pollution in terms of shortening their lives, announced the European Environment Agency /EEA/.
In these countries, the highest number of years of life lost due to air pollution was measured in residents who are 30 years old or older, the report says.
The agency states that air pollution remains the biggest environmental risk for Europeans, above other factors such as exposure to noise and chemicals or the risk of climate-related heat waves.
Unsafe levels of air pollution resulted in a staggering 182,000 deaths in 2023, “Juronjuz” reported.
The EEA report states that 95 percent of Europeans in urban areas are exposed to air pollution levels “significantly” above World Health Organization recommendations.
Among EU countries, Italy had the most deaths due to air pollution in 2023 and the most years of life lost per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Poland and Germany.
The lowest relative impacts of air pollution were recorded in countries in the north and north-west of Europe, including Sweden, Estonia and Norway.
Iceland had no deaths from air pollution, while 34 deaths were registered in Finland caused by long-term exposure to fine particles of pollution labeled PM2.5, the EEA specified, reports NOISE.
