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COVID-19 was just a wake-up call!
Environmental factors, such as air pollution and heat waves exacerbated by climate change, account for about 13% of all deaths in Europe, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said on Tuesday.
A total of 630,000 deaths in the 27 countries of the European Union plus the United Kingdom were attributed to environmental factors in 2012, the latest year for which data is available, the agency said in a report, according to Mediafax.
The biggest health risk in Europe
Air pollution is the biggest health risk in Europe and contributes to more than 400,000 premature deaths each year. Long-term exposure to pollutants can cause diabetes, lung disease, and cancer, and preliminary evidence suggests that air pollution may be linked to higher death rates among COVID-19 patients.
Europe’s pollution levels have fallen amid the quarantine imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, but the decline is expected to be temporary and most EU countries will not meet their targets for reducing air pollution in the next decade.
COVID-19, wake up call
The European Environment Agency announced that the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the link between the environment and human health, demonstrating the increased risk of disease transmission from animals to humans due to environmental degradation.
“COVID-19 was another wake-up call, which made us extremely aware of the relationship between our ecosystems and our health,” said EU Health Director Stella Kyriakides.
The European Commission has proposed measures to make agriculture more sustainable.
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