Air Pollution Costs Europe $1.6 Trillion in Deaths, Diseases Annually – WHO

© AP Photo / Tony HicksTower Bridge and the high rise towers of the City of London are shrouded in smog
Tower Bridge and the high rise towers of the City of London are shrouded in smog - Sputnik International
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Indoor and outdoor pollution costs European economies a hefty $1.6 trillion in premature deaths and related diseases, the World Health Organization's (WHO) first-ever study of this kind has shown.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The study, published on Tuesday, explores the latest complete data submitted in 2010 for the European Region, which covers 53 countries from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. It shows that polluted air causes 600,000 fatalities a year, as well as induces heart and respiratory conditions in hundreds of thousands of people.

The estimated cost is equal to one tenth of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the entire European Union in 2013.

"Curbing the health effects of air pollution pays dividends. The evidence we have provides decision-makers across the whole of government with a compelling reason to act," WHO Regional Director for Europe, Zsuzsanna Jakab, said in the report.

Georgia is estimated to bear the greatest economic burden attributable to air pollution fatalities at 35.2 percent of its GDP, while this cost for Norway is only 0.3 percent of GDP.

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