Air pollution is the main environmental risk to health, regardless of age, according to the European Environment Agency study. The situation is particularly bad in Italy's Po Valley, near coal-fired power plants and in the major cities of Central and Eastern Europe.
Maternal exposure to air pollution is "linked to low birth weight and premature births," notes the environmental agency. The European situation remains generally better than elsewhere in the world. According to the World Health Organization, pollution is responsible for seven million premature deaths per year worldwide.