New report examines the links between social and demographic inequalities and exposure to air pollution. Photo: © Shutterstock – Mirco Vacca

Europe’s poorest hit hardest by air pollution

The more disadvantaged of Europe’s citizens are also the most exposed to the negative consequences of air pollution and other environmental issues, a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) has found. The report investigates the links between social and demographic inequalities and exposure to air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures at various scales in Europe.

Regarding air pollution, it was found that eastern European countries – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria – and regions in southern Europe (including Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece), where incomes and education are lower and unemployment rates higher than European averages, were more exposed to air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM) and ground-level ozone (O₃).

Source: EEA News, 4 February 2019
Link to the report “Unequal exposure and unequal impacts: social vulnerability to air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures in Europe”: https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/unequal-exposure-and-unequal-impacts

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