Reducing air pollution to WHO-recommended levels could prevent more than 50,000 deaths per year in Europe, according to a study released Wednesday that calls for rapid action.
The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills more than seven million people a year worldwide and also causes illness and absenteeism at work.
The threshold recommended by the WHO for fine particles PM2.5 is 10 micrograms / m3 as an annual average and for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) 40? G / m3 as an annual average.
The harmfulness of fine particles for health is proven, in particular in urban areas (mortality and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, disorders of pregnancy and fetal growth, etc.).
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The study, published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal, calculated the premature deaths linked to these two pollutants in 1,000 European cities.
Following the WHO recommendations would prevent 51,213 premature deaths per year, according to the researchers.
Northern towns spared
The study "shows that many cities are still not doing enough to tackle air pollution," said Mark Nieuwenhuijsen of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal).
The number of deaths linked to air pollution varies between cities, with those located in the Po plain, Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic being particularly affected.
Conversely, the Icelandic capital Reykjavik, Tromsø in Norway, Umea in Sweden and Oulu in Finland are less exposed.
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Paris, with 2,575 premature deaths due to exposure to nitrogen dioxide, is, relative to the number of inhabitants, the 4th most exposed city in Europe, behind Madrid, Antwerp and Turin.
On average, 84% of the population in cities is exposed to levels above those recommended by the WHO for PM2.5 and 9% for NO2.
For Sasha Khomenko, co-author of the study, it is important to put in place measures adapted to local conditions, given the variations in pollution levels.
The changes to be carried out concern road traffic, industry, airports, ports, but also wood and coal heating.