Air pollution still causes the premature death of at least 1,200 children and adolescents in Europe every year, according to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) published on Monday, although the trend is improving.

As for adults, this pollution is the main environmental risk to the health of miners and reduces their life expectancy, according to this study of thirty countries on the continent, including the 27 EU Member States.

Progress, but...

"Air pollution causes more than 1,200 premature deaths per year among under-18s in Europe and significantly increases the risk of disease later in life," the EEA writes in its report.

"Despite progress in recent years, the level of several of the main air pollutants persists to remain above the recommendations of the World Health Organization, especially in central and eastern Europe, as well as in Italy," the European Union organization said.

A gloomier balance sheet?

The Po plain in Italy, areas close to large coal-fired power plants as well as large cities in the center and east of the continent are regularly singled out for poor air quality. Several European countries – including the UK and Ukraine – are not part of the study, suggesting that the continental picture is actually bleaker.

According to another report published by the EEA in November, at least 238,000 people - all ages combined - died prematurely in 2020 in Europe because of air pollution in the member countries of the agency (European Union, Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

Even if the share of children and adolescents impacted by air pollution is "relatively low" compared to the general population, dying so early "represents a potential loss of future as well as a significant burden of chronic diseases both in childhood and later in life," says the EEA. The agency recommends focusing on air quality around schools and nurseries, as well as sports facilities and public transport.

Asthma and respiratory infections

Its effects begin even before birth, with maternal exposure to air pollution "being linked to low birth weight and premature births," the environmental agency said.

After birth, ambient pollution increases the risk of several health problems, including asthma - which affects 9% of children and adolescents in Europe - or insufficiency and respiratory infections, the agency also points out.

These effects are aggravated by the fact that children are physically more active than adults and that their small size brings them closer to pollution, including car exhaust. All ages combined, 97% of the urban population were exposed in 2021 to air that does not comply with WHO recommendations, according to the latest data released Monday.

"On track"?

In its November report, however, the EEA noted that the European Union was on track to meet its target of reducing premature deaths by more than 50% in 2030 compared to 2005. In the early 1990s, fine particulate matter caused almost one million premature deaths in the 27 EU countries. In 2005, 431,000 people still died, according to agency data.

However, the overall situation in Europe remains better than elsewhere in the world: according to the WHO, air pollution is responsible for seven million premature deaths per year worldwide, a toll close to that caused by smoking or poor diet.

Several hundred thousand of these deaths are among children under 15, according to the UN organization. These heavy assessments had led it in September 2021 to establish more restrictive limits for the main air pollutants, for the first time since 2005. The most serious air pollution comes first from fine particles, which penetrate deep into the lungs. This is followed by nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3), according to health agencies.

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