Key points
- A large proportion of the European population lives in areas with unhealthy outdoor air quality, and is thus unable to avoid exposure to the harmful effects of pollution.
- The health effects of outdoor air pollution are the result of a mixture of gaseous and particulate pollutants, acting independently and in concert.
- The acute and chronic effects of outdoor air pollution are distinct from each other and must be studied independently.
- Daily variations in outdoor air pollution cause daily variations in mortality and respiratory symptoms.
- In the long term, outdoor air pollution can reduce life expectancy, affect lung development, increase asthma incidence and lead to other chronic respiratory diseases.
See the entire Outdoor environment Chapter