The ECAC analyzed the impact made by reductions in PM2.5 dust concentrations and the effect on people living in three provinces that have traditionally suffered from poor air quality: Silesia, Małopolska and Mazovia.

PM2.5, the subject of the study, refers to atmospheric aerosols with a maximum diameter of 2.5 micrometers. Considered the most dangerous particulate, high levels have been attributed to asthma, various forms of cancer and, among other things, various circulatory and respiratory diseases. Using 2017 as their base year, scientists then proceeded to use World Health Organization-approved methodology to assess how air quality had impacted the health of the population.

According to a report by Polish Smog Alert, improvements to air quality were credited with averting 5,900 premature deaths in Małopolska, 6,723 in Mazovia, and 12,571 in Silesia.

Łukasz Adamkiewicz, the President of ECAC, said: “Our analysis covered three voivodeships, but the gradual air quality improvement applies to the entire country. We can assume with a high degree of certainty that during the analyzed five years, not just 25,000 deaths were avoided in Poland, but perhaps two or three times that.”

Further to these figures, researchers say that in Silesia 9,086 emergency heart and lung hospitalizations were avoided, 5,615 in Mazovia and 5,086 in Małopolska.

Adamkiewicz stressed this did not mean that the battle against air pollution had been won and urged further action to be taken. “It is worth improving air quality because it translates into avoiding thousands of premature deaths and hospitalizations.”

Much scope for improvement remains with bad air quality blamed on 9,061 premature deaths says the study (2,255 in Małopolska, 2,735 in Mazovia, and 4,611 in Silesia). Silesia, say researchers, remains a particular problem hotspot.