Air Pollution Kills 1200 Children Yearly, European Study Says

A European study found that air pollution kills 1200 children every year and also contributes to mental illness in people.

According to the said study, air pollution has been exposing almost all children across the European continent to air that does not meet health standards and delaying the cleaning up of the sources of pollution.

Air Pollution Kills 1200 Children

According to the European Environment Agency's most recent published assessment of air pollution, at least 1,200 children die prematurely across Europe each year as a result of breathing dirty air, and many thousands more suffer from physical and mental health issues that may have lifelong effects.

Children are especially vulnerable to polluted air, according to Gerardo Sanchez Martinez, an EEA expert in environment and health. Pollutants can have a long-lasting effect on children's development. Studies have linked pollution to low birth weight and premature birth, so the effects start even before conception.

Asthma, which already affects 9% of adolescents and children in Europe, is also more common when exposed to high levels of air pollution, along with decreased lung function, respiratory infections, and allergies, according to DW.

Children are more exposed to polluted air than adults because they breathe more quickly, are situated closer to the ground, and spend more time outside. Each year, in Europe, people under the age of 18 lose about 110,000 disabled-adapted years.

Protecting Children

The EEA's executive director, Hans Bruyninckx, stated that children, who are most susceptible to the negative effects of air pollution on their health, should be protected by European air quality policies more than any other group of citizens. Europe must start stepping up national and local efforts to safeguard children who are unable to defend themselves. Making everyone's air healthier is the best way to ensure their safety.

While reducing air pollution sources is important, steps must also be taken to lessen the particular risks to children, according to the EEA. There could be clean air zones around schools, as well as hedge fences, trees, and ivy screens around playgrounds.

Aside from switching to back roads for school walking, better school and childcare facility design that incorporates good ventilation and filters can lessen children's exposure to pollutants both inside and outside of the buildings.

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EEA Study

The study examines air pollutants like particulates, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide and spans 37 nations, including all EU member states as well as nations like Turkey, Serbia, Kosovo, and Montenegro.

The burning of coal for domestic heating made Eastern European states particularly vulnerable, along with Italy's Po Valley, where industrial pollution was identified as a major issue.

In Europe, 97% of people of all ages were exposed to air pollution levels that were higher than those that the World Health Organization had deemed safe, according to the EEA.

By 2030, the EU hopes to reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to 20 micrograms per cubic meter and particulate matter (PM 2.5) to 10 micrograms per cubic meter. These measures are expected to reduce the number of premature deaths related to air pollution by 55% by that year. For PM 2.5 and NO2, the WHO recommends 5 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter, respectively, The Guardian reports.