The amount of air pollution in many European countries is above the recommendations of the World Health Organization, according to a recent report by the European Environmental Agency, EEA.
Air pollution causes (you switch to another service) still more than 1,200 premature deaths of children under the age of 18 in Europe every year.
A fresh one tells about it EEA report of the European Environment Agency (you will switch to another service).
Exposure to air pollution since childhood adversely affects lung capacity and causes asthma and allergies. It may even affect children’s brain development.
Children are more exposed to air pollution than adults because they breathe faster, are closer to the ground and spend more time outdoors.
– We cannot think of children as small adults, because they are exposed to a greater amount of air pollution. It starts already in the womb and continues in kindergarten. We have failed our children when it comes to air pollution, said the EEA expert Gerardo Sánchez Martinez.
According to the report, the situation has improved, but the amount of air pollution in many European countries is still above the recommendations of the World Health Organization.
97 percent of Europe’s urban population lives in cities with more pollution than recommended.
According to the EEA, the air quality is particularly poor in Eastern Europe and Italy. According to the report, this is explained by the fact that fossil fuels are still used in these countries for heating households and as an energy source for industry.
The figures are probably even lower, as the report did not include countries such as Ukraine, Russia and Britain.
According to the report, Finland had the least amount of air pollution.
The EEA demands urgent action to reduce air pollution. According to it, European countries should reduce the use of coal and other fossil fuels, and cut industrial emissions.
According to the EEA, children must be protected with special measures, for example by establishing clean air areas near schools and kindergartens, limiting traffic and increasing the number of green plants.