Environmental pollution, the culprit for the death of over 1 million people in Europe and Central Asia every year
Nearly 1,4 million people in Europe and Central Asia die prematurely every year due to environmental pollution.
According to a recent report from the United Nations, European citizens lose every year 50 million years of healthy life due to environmental risks. These are responsible for 15% of the total number of deaths registered on the continent.
Environmental risk factors are responsible for 26% of the coronary heart disease cases, 25% of strokes and 17% of cancer cases in Europe.
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The same source writes that air pollution is the leading environmental risk factor that leads to deaths in Europe, with 620,000 people dying every year because of it.
Furthermore, chemical and water pollution and occupational hazards also lead to the deaths of dozens of thousands.
The World Heath Organization (WHO) recently drew attention on this problem, emphasizing that over one in four deaths in children under the age of five are caused worldwide by unhealthy environment.
Therefore, every year, 1,7 million children in this age category lose their lives because of harmful factors in the environment, such as air pollution, passive smoking and contaminated water.
570,000 deaths in this age category are determined by air pollution both from the exterior and from the interior of the home. At the same time, 361,000 children under the age of 5 die every year due to diarrhoeal diseases especially caused by contaminated water and poor hygiene.
At the same time, 270,000 children die in their first month of life due to living conditions, something which might be prevented with access to clean water, sanitation, hygiene in sanitary institutions and reducing air pollution, according to the WHO.
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