The annual death rate in Britain from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is second only to Italy when compared to all other European countries.
NO2 is a toxic gas caused predominately by diesel vehicles as well as by some industry.
The gas was responsible for 11,940 premature deaths in the UK in 2013, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency. Despite falling from 14,100 in 2012, the rate is still the second worst in Europe.
The agency went on to define the worst NO2 location in Europe – Marylebone Road in central London where the greatest annual mean levels, running at more than twice the legal EU limit, were recorded.
Earlier this week a high court judge ruled that the government must deliver an effective plan within eight months to reduce illegal levels of air pollution in many parts of the UK.
The EEA estimated that across Europe 71,000 people suffered premature death in 2013 because of NO2 pollution. In Italy, it claimed more than 20,000 lives, nearly double those in the UK, while deaths in Germany numbered above 10,000.
Stricter controls on diesel vehicles have reduced the amount of pollutant in the environment in Europe, but the agency’s director said this has been “not enough to avoid unacceptable damage to human health and the environment”.
On Wednesday, MEPs in the European parliament approved limits on NO2 and four other air pollutants but which will not come into force until 2030.
