Study Identifies European Cities with Highest Mortality Due to Air Pollution

The study is the first to estimate the mortality burden attributable to air pollution in European cities. (Photo: Pixabay) - A health impact study has for the first time estimated the mortality burden attributable to air pollution in more than 1,000 European cities. The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, includes a ranking of the European cities with the highest rates of mortality attributable to each of the two air pollutants studied: fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The research project was led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) in collaboration with Swiss TPH and Utrecht University. The findings show that 51,000 and 900 premature deaths could be prevented each year, respectively, if all the cities analysed were to achieve the PM_2.5 and NO₂ levels recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO). If the cities were to match the air-quality levels of the least polluted city on the list, even more deaths could be prevented. Specifically, the number of premature deaths that could be prevented each year by reducing PM_2.5 and NO₂ concentrations to the lowest measured levels are 125,000 and 79,000, respectively.