Air Pollution Deaths Will Double in Next 35 Years to Kill up to 6.6 Million People Annually
Air pollution is killing 3.3 million people a year worldwide, according to a study conducted in late 2015 by Scientists in Germany, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia and Harvard University. The researchers estimated that air pollution is expected to kill more than 6.5 million people a year globally by 2050.
The premature deaths have been linked to two key pollutants – fine particulates known as PM2.5 ’s – and the toxic gas nitrogen dioxide, that are both produced by diesel cars, trucks and buses. These pollutants affect a person’s lung capacity and growth, and are linked to serious respiratory diseases with long-term health impacts.
Although calculating health effects on a global scale has proved challenging due to air quality not being monitored in some regions – and the toxicity of particles varies depending on their source, results indicate residential energy emissions, such as those from heating and cooking – which are prevalent in India and China – have the largest impact.
On the other hand, in most regions of the US and a few other countries, emissions from traffic and power generation are found to be important, whereas in Europe those from agriculture are the largest contributors of toxic fine particles.
The study, entitled, ‘The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale’, was published in the journal Nature, ‘16 September 2015′ using what was at that time current data on health statistics and computer models.
Jos Lelieveld at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany, was the lead author of the study, and said that the findings confirmed three quarters of air pollution related deaths were from strokes and heart attacks. He added “Air pollution kills more than HIV and malaria combined.”
In addition, Jason West, a University of North Carolina environmental sciences professor who wasn’t part of the study but, praised it said, “About 6 percent of all global deaths each occur prematurely due to exposure to ambient air pollution and this number is higher than most experts would have expected 10 years ago.”
Global Statistics
With nearly 1.4 million deaths a year, China has the most air pollution fatalities, followed by India with 645,000 and Pakistan with 110,000.
The United States, with 54,905 deaths in 2010 from soot and smog, ranks seventh highest for air pollution deaths. What’s unusual is that the study says that agriculture caused 16,221 of those deaths, second only to 16,929 deaths blamed on power plants.
In the U.S. Northeast, all of Europe, Russia, Japan and South Korea, agriculture is the No. 1 cause of the soot and smog deaths, according to the study.
Worldwide, agriculture is the No. 2 cause with 664,100 deaths, behind the more than 1 million deaths from in-home heating and cooking done with wood and other biofuels in developing world.
Air Pollution in America
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), roughly one out of every three people in the U.S is at a higher risk of experiencing PM2.5 related health effects. One group at high risk is active children because they often spend a lot of time playing outdoors and their bodies are still developing. In addition, oftentimes the elderly population are at risk.
People of all ages who are active outdoors are at increased risk because, during physical activity, PM2.5 penetrates deeper into the parts of the lungs that are more vulnerable to injury.
The EPA has a number of programs already in place that will help reduce emissions from power plants, cars, and other sources of emissions that lead to the formation of fine particles and include;
- Voluntary programs to reduce diesel engine emissions.
- Comprehensive national program requiring stringent emissions controls on diesel engines used in construction, agriculture, and mining and significantly reducing the sulfur content of diesel fuel.
- Permanently caps power-plant emission of particle forming sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the eastern US.
Air Pollution in Europe
Vehicles, industry, agriculture and homes are contributing to air pollution in Europe. Despite falling emission levels and reductions of some air pollutant concentrations in recent decades, the report demonstrates that Europe’s air pollution problem is far from solved. Two specific pollutants, particulate matter and ground-level ozone, continue to be a source of breathing problems, cardiovascular disease and shortened lives.
Scientific findings from a 2013 report conducted by the World Health Organistaion (regional office for Europe) indicated then, that human health can be harmed by lower concentrations of air pollution than previously thought.
Between 2009 and 2011, up to 96 % of city dwellers were exposed to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations above WHO guidelines and up to 98% were exposed to ozone (O3) levels above WHO guidelines. Lower proportions of EU citizens were exposed to levels of these pollutants exceeding the limits or targets set out in EU legislation. The report also noted that It is not just cities – some rural areas also have significant levels of air pollution.
Alongside health concerns, the report also highlights environmental problems such as eutrophication, which is when excessive nutrient nitrogen damages ecosystems, threatening biodiversity. Eutrophication is still a widespread problem that affects most European ecosystems.
Emissions of some nitrogen-containing pollutants have decreased, for example emissions of nitrogen oxides and ammonia have fallen by 27% and 7% respectively since 2002. However, emissions were not reduced as much as anticipated, with eight EU Member States breaching legal ceilings a year after the deadline for compliance. To address eutrophication, further measures are needed to reduce emissions of nitrogen.
Air Pollution in India
If a fine powder combining arsenic, black carbon, formaldehyde, nickel, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide sounds unpleasant, imagine how it would be if 200 tonnes of it were dumped on your town every day. Imagine, too, that it was proved to be cancerous, with most of it coming in the shape of particles small enough to lodge in the deepest, most tender parts of your lungs.
Such is the woe of India’s capital. With a count of “respirable suspended particulate matter” that is roughly double that of China’s notoriously smoggy capital, Beijing, Delhi is ranked by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the world’s most polluted big city.
Perhaps 25,000-50,000 of greater Delhi’s 25m people die prematurely every year because of air pollution. The number is growing: admissions for respiratory ailments at a busy teaching hospital soared fourfold between 2008 and 2015 according to an investigation by the Indian Express, a newspaper.
The trouble is not confined to the capital. In the country as a whole the number of early deaths caused by toxic air could exceed 600,000 a year. The largest cause is not cars or factories: it is smoke from home cooking, while in northern India stubble-burning in the countryside is also a factor. But vehicles play a big part, and it is to this source that the keenest attention is now being paid.
Air Pollution in India: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map
Air Pollution in China
Air pollution is a severe problem in China as well, and one that is ignored at the risk of people’s health and the Chinese economy. Smog hangs heavy over Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, where children grow up with asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Of particular concern is PM2.5 (particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm) air pollution. The concerns about PM2.5 contributing to China’s high lung cancer rates were highlighted by Greenpeace sampling and laboratory work over winter of 2013, finding that the PM2.5 pollution contained harmful amounts of cancer-causing arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel and other toxic heavy metals. Arsenic levels exceeded national standards. WHO estimates that 20% of lung cancer in China is linked to PM2.5 Pollution.
In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi’an, PM2.5 concentration levels in all four cities exceed World Heath Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines. This means higher health risks to the cardiovascular system, cerebrovascular system and an increase in the probability of cancer and premature death.
And supposing if the four cities effectively controlled PM2.5 levels and had met WHO air quality guidelines in 2012, the number of premature deaths would have decreased by at least 81%, while the economic benefits of reducing these premature deaths in the four cities would amount to $875 million USD.
China’s economy has skyrocketed, but at a price. Power plants, factories and heavy industries are all belching out black, dirty air, at the cost of our health and our environment.
Beijing Air Pollution: Real-time Air Quality Index (AQI)
These statistics and other can be found on the Greenpeace East Asia website. Greenpeace is one of the leading NGOs working on campaigns to reduce sources of air pollution in China.
Air Pollution in Australia
A report from Environment Justice Australia, released in May 2014, indicated that at the time, 3000 people died prematurely from air pollution each year.
And according to EJA:
Australia lacks an effective system of regulation for air pollution. The current system is based on a completely unsatisfactory arrangement that leaves important standards to protect health to be set by complex intergovernmental arrangements involving commonwealth, state and territory governments. This system is failing to adequately protect public health.
In Australia, the impacts of air pollution currently fall predominantly on the poor and disadvantaged. People living in close proximity to major roads, or large industrial facilities are particularly affected, as are many people in rural areas.
In Conclusion
The World Health Organisation released a report in March 2014, that stated “air pollution caused more deaths worldwide than AIDS, diabetes and road injuries combined” and is responsible for “one in eight of total global deaths”. That’s more than 7 million people a year in 2012 alone, making it the single largest environmental health risk on earth.
Click here to view the amazing NEW Elanra Air Pendant removing pollutants from the air.
Recent Comments