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euronews (in English)
  • 20/01/2025
Deaths from air pollution have fallen in the EU, but mortality rates were highest in Bulgaria, Poland, and Hungary.
Transcript
00:00Which countries have the deadliest air pollution in Europe?
00:09Air pollution killed 357,000 people in the EU in 2022.
00:14The main culprit was exposure to fine particulate matter like dust, smoke and exhaust,
00:19but nitrogen dioxide from the burning of fuel and ozone, which is found in smog, also contributed.
00:25Pollution is linked to a host of health problems, including heart and respiratory diseases,
00:30stroke, diabetes, lung cancer and poor birth outcomes.
00:33It's especially dangerous for older people.
00:36North Macedonia had Europe's worst mortality rate in 2021,
00:40with 255 premature deaths from exposure to fine particulate matter for every 100,000 people.
00:46Next up was Serbia with a mortality rate of 217 and Montenegro with a rate of 174.
00:52Bulgaria had the worst mortality in the EU, with 158 deaths per 100,000, followed by Poland and Hungary.
00:59In 2024, the EU enacted stricter air quality rules that aim to bring pollution levels closer to global health standards.
01:06The directive also gives citizens with pollution-related health problems the right to take their government to court if they don't comply.
01:13Some improvements have already been made.
01:15The number of deaths from fine particulate matter fell by 45 percent between 2005 and 2022.
01:22But even so, the European Environment Agency says that air pollution is still the biggest environmental health risk in Europe.

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