Despite the progress made over the last two decades to improve air quality in the EU, air pollution in urban areas still kills too many people in Europe, according to the 2023 analysis of the impact of this pollution on health, published on Thursday 23 November by the European Environment Agency (EEA) at the fourth Clean Air Forum, organised by the European Commission and hosted by the Dutch Environment Minister, Vivianne Heijnen in Rotterdam on 23 and 24 November.
According to this annual report covering 2021, 253,000 premature deaths could have been avoided if EU standards had been aligned with the WHO recommendations.
These 253,000 deaths are attributable to exposure to concentrations of fine particles (PM2.5) above the WHO guideline level of 5 µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air).
“These are the most dangerous particles, because they are the smallest, and come from transport and heating”, emphasised the EEA’s Executive Director, Leena Ylä Mononen.
In addition, 52,000 deaths are attributable to exposure to NO2 concentrations in excess of the WHO guideline level of 10 µg/m3, and 22,000 deaths are attributable to short-term exposure to O3 concentrations in excess of 70 µg/m3, according to the report.
Ms Mononen noted that there were “major disparities between regions”, with the countries with the lowest GDP in the south-east and east of Europe being those where “the health impact of this pollution is much greater”.
With negotiations underway between the European Parliament and the EU Council on the revision of the ‘ambient air quality’ directives to align them more closely with the WHO standards (see EUROPE 13294/3), the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said he hoped for “a final agreement before the European elections”.
On the same day, the European Commission announced that the European Air Quality Index smartphone app, available in 24 languages, has been redesigned to provide citizens, wherever they are in Europe, with real-time information on air quality – information provided by monitoring facilities and updated hourly – as well as recommendations.
Ahead of the forum, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) published the 2023 edition of the Urban Atlas of air pollution sources by sector in 150 EU cities. This tool should contribute to the development of air quality plans containing measures targeted at the most polluting activities.
The purpose of the Clean Air Forum, which is held every two years, is to discuss EU legislation with all stakeholders to ensure that it is properly implemented.
See the EEA report: https://aeur.eu/f/9r8
See the JRC Atlas: https://aeur.eu/f/9re (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)