The conclusion is once again clear: fine particle pollution kills.

In 2020, "exposure to concentrations of fine particles higher than the recommendations of the World Health Organization led to 238,000 premature deaths" across the European Union, indicates the European Environment Agency (EEA) in a new report published on Thursday.

This is up slightly from 2019, when fine particles, which penetrate deep into the lungs, caused the premature death of some 231,000 people.

These figures contrast with the constant decline over the past twenty years, with a total decline of 45% between 2005 and 2020, even if the figure remains “significant” underlines the study.

The bad mix with the Covid-19

This increase is explained in particular by the fact that Covid-19 has hit people with comorbidities linked to air pollution (cancer, lung disease or type 2 diabetes) the hardest.

Furthermore, “comparing 2020 to 2019, the number of premature deaths attributable to air pollution increased for (fine particles) PM2.5 but decreased for (nitrogen dioxide) NO2 and (the ozone) O3", details the EEA in its study.

For ozone particles (O3), in particular from road traffic and industrial activities, the trend in 2020 was downward with more than 24,000 deaths, a decline of 3% over one year.

For nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas produced mainly by vehicles and thermal power plants, more than 49,000 premature deaths have been recorded, a drop of 22% which is partly explained by the reduction in road traffic during the coronavirus pandemic. Covid-19.

The Copenhagen-based agency, on the other hand, does not add up the balance sheets because it would lead to double counting, according to it.

According to its annual report, however, it estimates that the EU is on track to achieve its target of reducing premature deaths by more than 50% by 2030 compared to 2005. In the early 1990s, fine particles caused nearly one million premature deaths in the 27 EU countries.

In 2005, 431,000 people still died from it.

Air pollution remains the most significant environmental threat to the health of Europeans.

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