Fine particulate matter pollution caused 399,000 premature deaths in EU countries in 2014, according to the most recent estimates on the health impact of air pollution published Wednesday by the European Environment Agency (EEA). That is an 8 percent decrease compared to the previous year. The data was submitted by national authorities and analyzed by the EEA, which came up with the estimates of premature deaths. [...]
Bulgaria had by far the highest rate of premature deaths attributable to particulate pollution, according to EEA data crunched by POLITICO. Next was Poland, where more than a third of the population heats their homes with polluting coal-fired furnaces. Sweden and Ireland had the lowest rates. [...]
Most countries had lower health impacts in 2014 than in 2013, but premature deaths rose in Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden.
The picture looks grimmer for specific air pollutants. Premature deaths linked to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is closely linked to diesel vehicle exhaust, increased to 75,000 in 2014 from 68,000 in 2013. Breaches of EU legal limits were reported in 22 of the 28 EU countries in 2015.
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