Air pollution with fine particles has led in 2015 to the premature death of 14,200 people in Bulgaria. This was shown by a study of the European Environment Agency covering 41 European countries. It is an updated version of the report covering the period 2000-2016.

According to the report, about 422,000 premature deaths in these countries in 2015 are related to air pollution with particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less. 391,000 оf those cases are in the EU. These particles are too small to be seen or smelled but have extremely harmful effects and can cause lung cancer, asthma and heart disease.

The authors note that only because of this harmful element of health, a total of over 10,000 years of life for Bulgarians are lost due to nitrogen dioxide and tropospheric ozone.

The report notes that the level of pollution is slightly improving in the EU but continues to be much higher than the standards of the Union and the World Health Organization. Air pollution is the main cause of premature death in the surveyed 41 European countries and is "too high," the agency notes.

Regions with the worst levels of fine particles are in Eastern European countries like Bulgaria, Poland, and Slovakia. Other countries above the admissible norms are Croatia, Serbia, Albania, and Bosnia. Macedonia is the worst of all countries.

Contaminated air also damages ecosystems, soil, forests, rivers and reduces harvests, the Agency also warns.

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