Air pollution was linked to the deaths of more than 250 people across the north and north-east in a single year, according to a new report.
Campaigners have claimed the issue is the “biggest environmental health threat” known to man and are urging public bodies to do more to ensure people have clean air to breathe.
Charity Asthma UK Scotland said pollution was a major problem for sufferers and prevented some people from leaving their homes and walking in areas with traffic congestion.
A report published by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) showed that long-term exposure to air pollution was responsible for 86 deaths in Aberdeen in 2010. The death toll among people over 25 equates to 936 life-years lost.
In Aberdeenshire, there were 70 deaths – the equivalent of 749 life-years lost – and in Moray 25 people died, amounting to 261 life-years lost.
The report showed that pollution was linked to 57 deaths in the Highland Council area (641 life-years lost) and six people died in Orkney (the equivalent to 56 life-years).
There were eight deaths in the Western Isles (85 life-years lost) and six people died in Shetland, which equated to 63 life-years lost.
HPS said more than 2,000 deaths were linked to air pollution across Scotland in 2010, with the highest mortality rate in Glasgow at 306, and Edinburgh at 205.
The report said the main air pollutants were particulate matter and gases including oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide and so-called ground-level ozone.
It stated: “All of these can cause irritation of the respiratory system and exacerbate existing health conditions, especially heart disease and respiratory illnesses, of vulnerable individuals.
“High pollution episodes can trigger increased hospital admissions, especially in those with pre-existing respiratory conditions like asthma.
“Such acute episodes can also contribute to the premature death of those people who are more vulnerable to daily changes in ambient air pollutant levels, notably the elderly and those with pre-existing cardio-respiratory – heart and lung – health conditions.”
Emilia Hanna, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “These figures confirm that 10 times the number of people are killed off by air pollution as die in road traffic accidents and air pollution is Scotland’s biggest environmental health threat.
“Stopping air pollution needs to jump to the top of the government’s health and transport priorities.
“We need to see cleaner streets with less traffic congestion, more people walking and cycling to work and improved public transport.
“If we lived in cleaner cities where the air was safe to breathe, these would be more pleasant places for us to spend time in and we would live longer, healthier lives.”
Asthma UK Scotland said there was strong evidence linking the development of asthma with people who live near roads with heavy traffic, particularly diesel-fuelled buses and lorries.
The charity’s national director, Gordon Brown, said a third of the country’s 400,000 sufferers claimed traffic fumes made their quality of life worse.
“We have heard stories of people who will not leave their houses if air pollution is bad,” he said.
“We know of people who are discouraged from walking in congested areas.
“People have to try to manage their condition as best they can and make sure they have an inhaler with them at all times.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman admitted more had to be done to tackle air pollution across the country. “While there has been a clear and sustained reduction in levels of air pollutants over the last few decades, these figures show that we cannot be complacent,” she added.
The spokeswoman said Scotland compared favourably with the rest of the UK and nitrogen dioxide had decreased by 65%, particulates by 58% and sulphur dioxide by 79% between 1990 and 2011.
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