The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released a new study suggesting that pollutant concentrations in Europe's air are still significantly beyond the threshold recommended by the World Health Organization's Air Quality Guidelines. According to the analysis, lowering pollution would avoid 253,000 premature deaths in Europe from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), 52,000 from nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and 22,000 from short-term ozone (O3) exposure. Italy has the biggest effect of any European country, with 46,000 premature deaths caused by PM2.5 exposure, 11,300 by nitrogen dioxide exposure, and 5,100 by ozone exposure, accounting for around one-fifth of total mortality in the EU. According to the analysis, in 2021, Italy would have lost 415,400 years of life due to PM2.5, over 100,000 due to NO2, and 46,700 due to ozone exposure.