Europe air pollution caused 400,000 premature deaths
October 16, 2019
Europe's environmental watchdog has warned that city dwellers in Europe are at risk of life-threatening air pollution. The report recommends EU countries take rapid action such as decreasing the number of cars in cities.
Image: Getty Images/D. Kitwood
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Poor air quality caused 412,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2016, the most recent year data is available, according to an EU report released on Wednesday.
Sixteen of the EU's 28 member states reported at least one case of unacceptable levels of nitrogen dioxide that surpass legal EU limits. Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain were all found to have unsafe levels of the gas that's among the major vehicle emissions.
The report recommends European countries reduce the number of cars to lower nitrogen dioxide levels — and therefore air pollution.
An air quality expert at the European Environmental Agency and author of the study, Alberto Gonzales Ortiz, warned that air pollution is "currently the most important environmental risk to human health."
The report referred to World Health Organization (WHO) figures that found heart disease and stroke were the most common reasons for premature death due to air pollution, followed by lung disease and lung cancer.
The study also found that certain groups including children, the elderly, pregnant women and people living close to roads and industrial areas were more vulnerable to its effects.
What too much traffic does to our environment — and to us
Traffic jams are bad for the environment, the economy and our health. Here are the worst consequences due to traffic congestion — and the places where people suffer the most.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Y. Kadobnov
Testing your patience
Getting into a traffic jam is every driver's nightmare. Endless minutes (or worse: hours) in which nothing's moving forward can turn what should be a short car-ride into a seemingly never-ending odyssey. But congested streets aren't just annoying for commuters — they have far-reaching consequences.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. März
Higher emissions
Turn off your engine when you get into a traffic jam! You'll save fuel after 20 seconds of standing still already. Letting your engine run while your car's idling burns one liter of fuel an hour, according to Germany's technical inspection agency TÜV Süd. A higher fuel consumption rate means that more CO2 is blasted into the atmosphere, which we should avoid if we want to fight global warming.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Fassbender
Germany's congestion capital
Germany saw roughly 745,000 traffic jams in 2018, according to German automobile club ADAC. That's a three-percent increase compared to 2017. According to GPS-maker TOMTOM's last survey, Cologne's streets were the most congested (as shown above). On average, travel time increased by more than a third because of congestion, compared to free flowing traffic.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Vennenbernd
Traffic breakdown in L.A. and Moscow
GPS-maker INRIX uses different calculations and has identified Munich as Germany's traffic jam capital. Drivers there were stuck in congestion for an average of 51 hours a year. That's nothing compared to the world leaders: The world capital of traffic jams is Los Angeles, where drivers were stuck in traffic for 102 hours a year, followed by Moscow (pictured here) and New York with 91 hours each.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/Y. Kadobnov
Endangering your health
People who are stuck in traffic frequently have to deal with serious health problems. When traffic isn't flowing as it should, your body releases stress hormones. Your immune system is weakened and your blood pressure rises. People who are frequently stuck in traffic jams, like commuters, are even likely to develop burnout syndrome.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Cirou
Billions in economic losses
According to INRIX, the costs caused by traffic jams in Germany amounted to 80 billion euros in 2017. Goods don't reach their intended recipients on time and more fuel is burned. Both companies and private drivers suffer financially. Traffic jams "threaten economic growth and stunt quality of life," INRIX head economist Graham Cookson said.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/G. Falvey
Ride-sharing apps made things worse
For a while hopes were high that ride-sharing services like Uber would bring down traffic. If people could easily get a ride, maybe they'd leave their own cars in the garage more often! But traffic researcher Bruce Schaller found out that the opposite was true in US cities. People took Uber instead of the subway or their bikes, while car owners kept driving their own vehicles.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Imaginechina/Da Qing
Traffic just one contributor to air pollution
Afghanistan's capital Kabul is also dealing with congested streets. But that's not the only factor contributing to dangerous air pollution. In winter residents have taken to burning coal, car tires and trash to generate heat. Add to that diesel generators and many, many cars and you get smog that Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) calls "deadly."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Berehulak
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While the level of dangerous particles in European cities was dropping, Ortiz said it was not falling fast enough. In line with EU law, member states are required to examine the level of a range of pollutants and take action if pollutants, such as ozone matter, exceed healthy levels.
"We have not yet reached the EU standards and of course we are far from reaching the WHO standards," Ortiz added.
"When we fight pollution, we also fight climate change as well as noise and promote more healthy behavior. It's a win-win," Ortiz said.
EU measures
In a bid to tackle the country's pollution problem, the British government proposed on Tuesday an environmental bill with legally binding measures to decrease fine air particles. The bill also expects car manufacturers to return vehicles that do not meet the particle emission standards.
