Air pollution now blamed for 64,000 deaths every year
AIR pollution is killing 64,000 Britons a year – 24,000 more than thought previously, according to a major study.
It said toxic fumes were causing 98 deaths for every 100,000 people – cutting life expectancy by 18 months.
The researchers from the University Medical Centre of Mainz in Germany said air pollution caused 31,000 fatal cases of heart and artery disease in Britain in 2015, along with 3,000 fatal strokes.
More than 29,000 other deaths were linked to toxic air – mainly through respiratory problems.
Professor Thomas Munzel, who led the study, said the heart disease figures were especially worrying. ‘The number of deaths from cardiovascular disease that can be attributed to air pollution is much higher than expected,’ he said.
‘In Europe alone, the excess number of deaths is nearly 800,000 a year and each of these deaths represents an average reduction in life expectancy of more than two years.’
Professor Metin Avkiran of the British Heart Foundation said: ‘ These findings provide further evidence that air pollution significantly increases the risk of premature death from heart and circulatory diseases, and suggest that its impact may be even greater than we previously thought.
‘Air pollution is clearly a huge problem across Europe, where our legal limits are less stringent than those recommended by the World Health organisation.
‘We need to see these international guidelines in UK law in order to drive decisive action to tackle air pollution and protect the nation’s health.’
The researchers said sooty particles emitted by cars were a major cause of death, along with gases such as nitrogen oxides that are a particular problem with diesel engines.
They called for more stringent curbs on PM2.5 particles.
The average limit in the European Union is 25 micrograms per cubic metre of air – twice the WHo recommendation of 10 micrograms. Globally, air pollution now claims more lives than smoking.
Jenny Bates, a campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: ‘We’ve known for a while that air pollution is responsible for tens of thousands of early deaths in this country every year, but these new figures suggest it could be almost twice as bad. Dangerously toxic air impacts far too many of us, but it’s the most vulnerable in society who continue to pay the highest price.
‘Children are at risk of growing up with underdeveloped lungs while those with conditions such as asthma are sometimes forced to limit outdoor activity.
‘ What will it take for our Government to see that this is a health crisis that demands proper action?’
Simon Alcock, of environmental law firm ClientEarth, said: ‘These alarming figures are a timely reminder of the need for urgent action to tackle toxic air pollution.
‘The Government’s upcoming environment bill gives ministers the perfect opportunity to enshrine stricter WHo guideline limits into UK law. Ministers should not miss that chance.’
The researchers stressed that air pollution in many other countries is far worse.
In Germany, it is said to have been responsible for an extra 124,000 deaths in 2015 and 2.4 years of lost life expectancy.
Reported in the European Heart Journal, the study involved computer simulations of chemical actions combined with data about population, disease risk factors and causes of death.
‘Crisis that demands action’