Europe’s Silent Killer: How Cities Are Fighting Back Against Deadastrophic Air Pollution

By&nbspDenis Loktev

Published on
21/09/2026 – 7:02 GMT+2

According to Breathe Cities, a global initiative dedicated to addressing urban air pollution, air pollution was responsible for nearly eight million deaths worldwide in 2023. The health consequences are staggering, estimated to cost €7.12 trillion annually — equivalent to roughly six per cent of global GDP.

“Pollution remains invisible to most people,” Dr María Neira, former director of environment, climate change and health at the World Health Organization, tells Euronews Earth. She explains that pollutant particles can reach “any organ” in the body, including the brain, contributing to cognitive decline and diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Olympic runner Paula Radcliffe, who was diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma at the age of 14, has experienced the effects firsthand. Competing in a polluted Beijing, she suffered “headaches, nausea” and impaired vision, she tells Euronews Earth. She adds that dirty air also impairs children’s brain development and academic performance.

Cities take action against air pollution

Breathe Cities currently partners with 16 cities around the world to improve access to air quality data and advance clean air policies.

London has reduced deaths linked to toxic air by approximately 40 per cent since introducing its Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) alongside other clean air initiatives, according to an independent study conducted by Imperial College London.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, traffic and wood-burning heating continue to be the two primary sources of pollution. “By 2023, we were estimated to be among the cities with the highest number of deaths attributable to air pollution,” Dr Kostadin Kostadinov of the Medical University of Plovdiv tells Euronews Earth.

Following a class action lawsuit filed by environmental groups and local residents, Sofia implemented a low emission zone that restricts traffic and promotes upgrades to domestic heating systems. “There is already evidence that it’s bringing down pollution,” Ivaylo Hlebarov, air quality consultant to Sofia Municipality, tells Euronews Earth.

However, the zone operates for only three months each year. “It’s a political decision,” Hlebarov says, noting that traffic-related nitrogen dioxide pollution shows little seasonal variation. “This zone should become… a whole year round” measure, he adds.

Bulgaria has some of Europe’s highest rates of cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer — conditions that Kostadinov says are strongly associated with air pollution, despite limited local research on the subject.

What comes next for Europe’s air pollution crisis?

According to Neira, political will — rather than technology — now represents the primary obstacle. She points to resistance from fossil fuel and transport industries as cities push for renewable energy and sustainable mobility solutions. Climate change is expected to further complicate efforts to address the problem.

Breathe Cities is now preparing a second phase of its work, expanding support to additional communities while building on the reductions already achieved in cities such as London, Sofia and other participating locations.

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