Air pollution: the number of deaths linked to fine particles in the EU decreases slightly – franceinfo

Fine particle pollution caused 307,000 premature deaths in the European Union in 2019. According to a report by the European Environment Agency published on Monday (November 15th), the number of deaths due to air quality has decreased by more than 10% in one year, while remaining alarming. According to the study, more than half of those lives could be saved if the Twenty-Seven met the new goals recently set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

In 2018, the number of deaths linked to fine particles PM 2.5 (particles suspended in the air with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers) was estimated at 346,000. The sharp drop in 2019 is explained by partly by favorable weather conditions but above all by the gradual improvement of air quality in Europe, according to theEuropean Environment Agency.

In the early 1990s, fine particles, which penetrate deep into the lungs, caused nearly a million premature deaths in the 27 EU countries. A figure already fallen to around 450,000 in 2005. Fine particle pollution was responsible in 2019 for 53,800 premature deaths in Germany, 49,900 in Italy, 29,800 in France and 23,300 in Spain, according to the EAA. With 39,300 deaths, Poland is the country most affected in relation to its population.