In 2021, more than eight million people died because of air pollution. It is a greater risk factor for death than tobacco or junk food.
- Air pollution is the second leading risk factor for death worldwide, after high blood pressure.
- It is also responsible for many chronic diseases and cancers.
- Air pollution also increases the risk of illness and death in children under 5 years old.
We live in environments that are too polluted. According to the World Health Organization, 99% of the world’s population lived in places where recommended air quality thresholds were not met in 2019. However, air pollution has serious consequences for our health. According to the latest report State of Global Air (SoGA)it caused 8.1 million deaths worldwide in 2021 and is the second risk factor for death, after high blood pressure and before tobacco or junk food.
This publication is the result of collaboration between different institutes, scientists and organizations, with the aim of establishing “a comprehensive analysis of air quality and health levels and trends for every country in the world”.
Air pollution a risk factor for death and chronic disease
This fifth edition of the report reveals the harmful effects of certain pollutants, such as outdoor fine particles (PM2.5), domestic air pollution, ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In total, data from more than 200 countries and regions around the world were included in the research.Virtually everyone on the planet breathes harmful levels of air pollution every day, with significant health impacts.”observe the authors in a communicated. Beyond deaths, exposure to these pollutants is responsible for “chronic diseases that debilitate millions of people, placing a heavy burden on health systems, economies and societies”.
The authors of the report observe that more than 90% of deaths are linked to PM2.5.These fine particles, which are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, are so small that they remain in the lungs and can enter the bloodstream, affecting many organ systems and increasing the risk of noncommunicable diseases in adults, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).”they develop.
More than 700,000 children under five have died due to air pollution
These risks of illness and death do not only concern adults. For the first time, the report was produced in partnership with UNICEF and this has helped to understand the effects of air pollution on the youngest.Children under five are particularly vulnerable, with health effects including premature births, low birth weight, asthma and other lung diseases, note the document. In 2021, exposure to air pollution was implicated in more than 700,000 deaths of children under five, making it the second leading risk factor for death worldwide for this age group, after malnutrition..” 500,000 deaths were caused by domestic air pollution, caused by indoor cooking with polluting fuels.
Air pollution: a threat to millions of people
While child mortality linked to pollution is still very high worldwide, the report states that the mortality rate for children under five has fallen by 53% since 2000, “largely due to efforts to expand access to clean energy for cooking, as well as improved access to health care, nutrition and greater awareness of the harmful effects of exposure to household air pollution.”The authors welcome this notable progress, but believe that it is possible, and necessary, to “fmore air pollution so that air pollution is no longer at the top of the list of health risks that threaten the lives of millions of people.s”.