Bosnia and Herzegovina ranks second in Europe in terms of the number of people who die due to environmental pollution. Almost 160 of them per hundred thousand inhabitants die. The situation is worse only in Albania, where more than 160 people die, Klix.ba news portal reports.
These worrying data were published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in its 2019 report “A healthier environment, healthier lives: how the environment affects health and well-being in Europe” being in Europe) “.
The report said the deaths of one in eight people were linked to environmental pollution. Of the total number of deaths on the Old Continent, 13 percent are dominated by air pollution and high temperatures due to climate change.
Polluted air is marked as the most significant health risk. This problem is estimated to result in premature death in 400,000 people each year.
It has been warned that prolonged exposure to polluted air can cause diabetes, lung diseases and cancer.
Air pollution has been linked to coronavirus deaths. The EEA recalled that coronavirus is an indicator that there is an increased risk of transmitting the disease from animals to humans, as a result of the destruction of the environment and habitats of other species.
Compared to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, the number of deaths due to environmental pollution is lower in other countries in the region. In this context, the situation is best in Slovenia, where less than 80 people die due to environmental pollution. In Croatia, the number is more than a hundred, in Serbia, Northern Macedonia and Montenegro more than 120. In Iceland, the number is the lowest and is less than 60.