Each year, around 4.5 million people die from the effects of outdoor air pollution worldwide, an article recently published in Nature reported, citing two studies published in Lancet – one of the top medical journals in England. However, this figure was estimated based on the data in earlier years. According to a report released by WHO in 2014, around 7 million people died – one in eight of total global deaths – as a result of air pollution exposure. Given the worsening air quality, it is possible that the total number of deaths per year attributable to air pollution will continue to rise.
The WHO report indicates air pollution is now the world’s largest environmental health risk. Although there is a report that China’s air quality has improved slightly and slowly since 2010, though the evidence is weak, India’s air quality has worsened fastest in the past decade. Moreover, desert dust in West Africa adds to air pollution. Globally, air quality is worsening. Currently, over 90% of the world’s population is exposed to air pollution, as documented in the article published in Nature.
According to a report by Dr. Lelieveld, a German researcher, half of the deaths attributable to air pollution are in China and India. However, Russia has a higher per-capita death rate: about 1.6 inhabitants per thousand each year, twice as many as in India. On average, each person affected dies 28 years earlier than they would have if they had breathed clean air, amounting to some 120 million years of human life lost each year.
The most vulnerable group of people to air pollution may be older adults. Because of their chronic illnesses, they are at greater risk of mortality caused by air pollution. Older adults with certain health conditions, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, and cancer, are particularly susceptible to the short-term effects of air pollution. Therefore, air pollution can shorten life and health expectancy for older adults.
Another group of people vulnerable to air pollution is children under 5 years of age. A recent report by WHO indicates that more than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 years are attributable to unhealthy environments, including indoor and outdoor air pollution. Globally, environmental risks take the lives of 1.7 million children under 5 years old every year. Many die from respiratory infections such as pneumonia, which are associated with air pollution. When children are exposed to indoor and outdoor air pollution, they have an increased risk of pneumonia in childhood and a lifelong increased risk of chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma. Exposure to air pollution may also increase their lifelong risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Harmful exposures can start in the mother’s womb and increase the risk of premature birth. Thus, building safer environments by reducing air pollution inside and outside households is crucial for preventing children’s deaths and diseases.
