🇪🇺The air in Europe

Credited to concise goals and policies that aim to reduce the number of premature deaths and sicknesses caused by air pollution, air quality in Europe has been steadily improving over the past decade, with the number of people exposed to harmful levels of air pollution decreasing by approximately 25%. (2)

In 2019, the European Environment Agency found that the air pollution in Europe is responsible for an estimated 400,000 premature deaths each year. (3)

The European Environment Agency has reported that the average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Europe is 22 μg/m3, which is still above the World Health Organisation recommended maximum of 10 μg/m3. There is significant variation between countries, with some countries such as the UK and France having higher than average levels of air pollution. (4)

According to the World Health Organization, nine out of ten Europeans are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed the recommended safe limit. (5)

In a 2017 briefing from the European Environment Agency (EEA) it was estimated that air pollution and greenhouse gases emitted from Europe's large industrial sites cost society between €277 and €433 billion in that year alone, higher than many individual Member States' total economic output. A small number of facilities are responsible for most of the external costs, with thermal power plants causing the most harm. (6)

Studies from the OQAI (Occupational Quality of Air Institute) have indicated that indoor air is 5 to 7 times more polluted than outdoor air. This is especially alarming given that we spend 80-90% of our time indoors, particularly at work. (7)