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The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) reports that air pollution in Norway has decreased over the past 10-20 years but remains a considerable threat to people's health.
The Norwegian Public Health Report, released by The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), shows a steady decrease in multiple types of air pollution over the past 10 to 20 years, across the entire country. In spite of this, air pollution remains a considerable threat to public health.
Air pollution can exacerbate existing illnesses and cause premature deaths primarily among those suffering from asthma and other respiratory diseases as well as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Prolonged exposure to air pollution can also trigger illness.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health is currently taking part in the ELAPSE Project, which investigates the impact of air pollution on public health, employing data from more than 25 million test subjects across Europe. The project has so far established a connection between prolonged exposure to airborne dust contaminants and increased mortality rates, even in Norway where the levels are relatively low. Exposure to air pollution has been linked to fatal cases of cardiovascular disease and lung disease as well as deaths from natural causes, and the majority of the cases pertained to lung disease and lung cancer. However, the reliability of the results has been affected by insufficient data regarding the participants’ smoking habits.
The successful reduction of air pollution relies, more than anything, on effective measures implemented both nationally and internationally. The NIPH credits international agreements controlling industrial and car emissions as well as measures particular to Norway like road tolls, environment-conscious speed limits, charges for driving with studded tyres in winter and phasing out old wood-burning stoves.
