Pollution is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people every year, according to a new report by the European Environment Agency.
The report, titled, 'Europe's environment - The fourth assessment', says that economic activities like agriculture, tourism, transport and energy are the main pressure factors on the region's environment. The report also said that added pressure on the environment was cutting down life expectancy by at least one year.
This was especially true in Belgium, the Netherlands, northern Italy and parts of Poland and Hungary, it added. The report is the latest in such pan-European environment assessment reports released over the last 15 years by the EEA. Overall 53 countries supporting 870 million people were assessed.
"Poor air quality is still causing hundreds of thousands of premature deaths in Europe every year and continues to damage crops and ecosystem health," the report said. "The estimated annual loss of life is significantly greater than that due to car accidents."
It added that the air pollution scenario was really bad in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia where there has been a 10 percent jump in greenhouse gas emissions. The report also says that some 700 European species are under threat because of air pollution.
Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the EEA said that while progress has been made as in improved wastewater treatment, there needs to be more concrete action taken in order to reduce the impact of air pollution in Europe.
"We need to further strengthen the will to act on environmental issues across the pan-European region. This requires a better understanding of the problems we face, their nature and distribution across societies and generations," she added.
