Air pollution kills more Czechs every year

Some 12,500 Czechs are believed to have died last year because of smog, according to a recent report by the Environment Ministry. That means that up to 13 percent of the total number of deaths in the Czech Republic can be attributed to air pollution. The last ten years have also seen an unusual increase in allergies among children. The incidence of tumours is increasing as well, especially in areas affected by higher emissions. In larger towns there are usually about two cases caused by polluted air in every hundred thousand people, while in industrial regions it can be as much as ten in one hundred thousand. The highest concentration of harmful substances was monitored in the North Bohemian region of Ostrava.