All official European Union website addresses are in the europa.eu domain.
See all EU institutions and bodies
An official website of the European Union | How do you know?
Environmental information systems
EN
The indicator shows the number of annual premature deaths attributable to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM₂.₅) and the related zero-pollution action plan objective for 2030. Premature deaths are derived from a health risk assessment approach based on World Health Organization Europe recommendations measuring the general impact of air pollution across a given population.
Although Estonia is one of the EU Member States with the best outdoor air quality and has significantly improved its air quality since 2005, leading to decreased health impacts, fine particles and nitrogen dioxide still caused an average of 1 179 premature deaths in 2020 (calculated by the Asthma Impairment and Risk Questionnaire method), with a health impact valued at EUR 666 million annually. On average, air pollution has reduced life expectancy by nearly 10 months, but, in high-risk groups, the reduction in life expectancy can be significantly larger, averaging up to 12 years.
Among various air pollution sources, local heating had the largest negative impact on health, being estimated to cause 571 premature deaths in 2020. This was followed by traffic, responsible for 433 premature deaths in the same year. The health impact measured in lost life years decreased by 29% between 2010 and 2020, and, by 2030, a further reduction of 8% is expected. The reduction in health impacts across different sources (local heating, traffic, other sources including industrial sources) has been relatively similar.
Key measures to further improve air quality are transitioning to renewable energy, electrifying transport, developing public transport and expanding district heating.
References and footnotes
- a bUniversity of Tartu, Comparison of the impact of outdoor air quality on human health in Estonia in 2010 and 2020, and health impact projections of air pollution for 2030 – Final report, Tartu, 2022, accessed 19 June 2025, https://kliimaministeerium.ee/sites/default/files/documents/2025-03/V%C3%A4lis%C3%B5hu kvaliteedi m%C3%B5ju v%C3%B5rdlus inimeste tervisele Eestis aastatel 2010 ja 2020 ning%C3%B5husaaste tervisem%C3%B5jude prognoos aastaks 2030 l%C3%B5plik.pdf.