One tiny landlocked country in southeast Europe has the worst air quality on the continent. (Image: Getty)
Sadly, air has become a major cause of death in Europe.
The Environment Agency (EEA) estimated that at least 239,000 deaths in the EU were caused by exposure to air pollution above the (WHO) recommended concentrations.
Air pollution is linked to problems including lung cancer, heart and respiratory diseases, stroke and poor birth outcomes. It is particularly dangerous for older people, causing about 4% of all deaths among adults 65 and above.
While all countries report nitrogen dioxide levels – which also contribute to issues like smog and acid rain – are above WHO-recommended levels, some are hit harder by air pollution than others, including one tiny landlocked country in the southeast of Europe.
, which shares borders with Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, and Serbia, suffers the most deaths from pollution.
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In February 2024 Skopje, North Macedonia’s capital, was among the world’s top most polluted cities. (Image: Getty)
follows behind in second place, along with Albania, Bulgaria, and Montenegro.
According to , in February 2024, , North Macedonia’s capital, was once again among the world’s top 10 most polluted cities. It also revealed that one in nine (11.6%) infant deaths in the country were linked to air pollution.
Residents in the capital also revealed to in 2023 that the air “feels and tastes like burnt plastic” and were wearing masks “for air pollution before ”.
“The biggest divide in Europe we see is east and west [and this] aligns very much with GDP and socioeconomic backgrounds of the two regions,” Zorana Jovanovic Andersen, an environmental epidemiology professor at the University of Copenhagen and member of the European Respiratory Society’s environment and health committee, told .
In December, stricter air quality rules were enacted to bring the EU closer to WHO standards by 2030 and oblige member states to monitor pollutants like fine particulate matter (PM2.5), black carbon, and ammonia.
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One in nine infant deaths in North Macedonia were linked to air pollution. (Image: Getty)
The plan is “one of the biggest public health interventions for a generation,” said Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, director of the Barcelona Institute for Global Health’s urban planning, environment, and health initiative, for Euronews Health.
Overall, exposure to PM2.5 caused about 239,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2021, while another 48,000 people died as a result of exposure, according to the EEA.
The updated EU directive also gives citizens with pollution-related health problems the right to sue their government if it does not comply with EU air quality rules.
Some countries have already taken steps to curb their pollution levels. , for example, could become the first country in the world to impose a carbon tax on livestock farming in 2030.