It underlines the link between air pollution and global warming and urges countries to act on both together. "Pollutants like particulates and black carbon affect both rainfall and the way that clouds reflect sunlight, but also indirectly via the way they reduce the growth of vegetation which can act as a carbon sink. Air quality and climate change can be cost-effectively tackled together by using an integrated approach when defining policies and measures," it says.
East European countries, including Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia, were found to be the most exposed to particulate matter, largely, it is thought, from coal and wood burning.
East European countries, including Bulgaria, Poland and Slovakia, were found to be the most exposed to particulate matter, largely, it is thought, from coal and wood burning.
"Particulate matter remains a serious threat to health, because no threshold for PM has been identified below which no damage to health is observed. In western, central and eastern Europe it was 430,000 premature deaths,