France Says Dirty Air Leads to 48,000 Deaths Annually

Air pollution causes an estimated 48,000 deaths per year in France, reducing life expectancy by more than two years in the country’s biggest cities, according to a report released June 21 by the new national public health agency.

With air pollution Europe’s top environmental cause of death, ambitious air improvement policies could avoid as many as 34,000 deaths per year in France, raising life expectancy some nine months, by contributing to prevention of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and cancer linked to such pollution, said the agency, whose French name is Santé Publique France.

The study measured air pollution from human ...