A report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) published on Friday reveals that fine particulate air pollution caused the deaths of 253,000 people in the European Union (EU) in 2021. These fine particles, known as PM2.5, exceeded the World Health Organization’s recommended concentration of 5 µg/m3.
This figure represents an increase from 2020, when fine particles led to the premature death of 238,000 individuals. The EEA attributes this rise to heightened exposure to pollutants and a slight increase in European mortality, primarily linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite a 41% decrease in premature deaths from fine particles between 2005 and 2021, EEA’s Executive Director, Leena Yla Mononen, emphasizes that “the impact of air pollution on our health remains unacceptably high.”
Mortality attributable to PM2.5 is in a “slight increase” compared to 2020, while around 52,000 premature deaths are linked to exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and 22,000 to ozone particles (O3). The report underscores that air pollution remains the most significant environmental threat to the health of Europeans.