Air pollution causes 30,000 premature deaths a year in Spain: report

Air pollution was responsible for 29,980 premature deaths in Spain in 2013, according to a latest report by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

The EEA explains that the 2013 data is an improvement on the 2012 figures when it calculates 33,200 premature deaths could be attributed to air pollution.

The Air Quality in Europe Report, which examines data from over 400 cities, links air pollution to 467,000 deaths in 41 European countries with nine out of ten Europeans who live in cities breathing air that damages their health.

The good news is that emissions have decreased in recent years, although officials say they are not enough to avoid unacceptable damage to human health and the environment.

Data from monitoring stations in Europe in 2014 show 85 percent of urban dwellers faced dangerous levels of exposure to "fine particle matter", which is mainly caused by the use of fossil fuels and which can provoke respiratory problems.

Meanwhile, the report says levels of nitrogen oxides from cars and vehicles have not fallen sufficiently.

High nitrogen oxide levels in the Spanish capital of Madrid saw the City Hall introduce a series of measures aimed at limiting the use of cars in the city center. Endit