Over 1 Million Air Pollution-Related Deaths Avoidable in 2017: Survey

China and India, which account for 58% of the global PM2.5 mortality rate, together account for the largest number of fatalities. The study was conducted by a group of interdisciplinary researchers who individually investigated the causes of air pollution and its health effects, as well as globally, in more than 200 countries and regions.

Other major sources are housing (740,000 deaths, 19.2% of PM2.5 burden), industry (450,000 deaths, 11.7% PM2.5 burden), and energy (390,000). Includes sectors of human deaths, 10.2% of PM2.5 burden).

According to the survey, the average concentration of PM2.5 in the world in 2017 was 41.7 μg / m3, and 91% of the world population has an average annual concentration higher than the annual average guideline of 10 μg / m3 of the World Health Organization (WHO). I am experiencing it. Over 65% of subnational regions experienced higher PM2.5 concentrations than the national average.

In some extreme cases around Kanpur and Singrauli, the average annual PM2.5 concentration exceeded 150 μg / m3. This is almost four times the safety limit set by the Central Pollution Control Committee and 15 times the WHO guidelines.

In the top nine deadliest countries, coal was China’s largest contributor, killing 22.7%, or 315,000. Oil and natural gas are the largest fuel contributors in Egypt, Russia and the United States, killing up to 27% or 9,000 to 13,000 people in each country.

Burning solid biofuels is the largest contributor fuel source in India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nigeria, killing up to 36% or 250,000 people. Of India’s major sources of pollution, the housing sector accounts for 25.7%, industry 14.8%, energy 12.5%, agriculture 9.4%, waste 4.2% and other combustion 3.1%.

“We have long known that air pollution is a major cause of death. This study provides a global perspective on the relative importance of various sources and the atmosphere as a health concern. It provides both a starting point for many countries that have not yet addressed pollution, “said Dr. Michael Brauer, a senior researcher and professor at the University of British Columbia. Colombian Graduate School of Population and Public Health.

The study also demonstrates the importance of developing regional air quality mitigation strategies, demonstrating that sources vary on a regional scale. For example, in China and India, housing emissions are the number one cause of average PM2.5 exposure and deaths, while Beijing and the area around Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh, India) have contributions from the energy and industrial sectors. It is relatively large.

Eliminating the burning of coal, oil and natural gas in China and India can reduce the burden of PM2.5 disease worldwide by nearly 20%. According to a previous study, coal-burning emissions decreased by up to 60% in China between 2013 and 2017, while these same sources increased by up to 7% in India between 2015 and 2017. Did.

“Countries with the highest air pollution-related deaths usually contributed more from human sources. When developing mitigation strategies to reduce air pollution, local sources were used. It’s important to consider, “said Dr. Erin McDuffy, lead author of the study and visiting scholar at Washington University in St. Louis.

Long-term exposure to air pollution causes an average of 4 million deaths worldwide annually, including deaths from heart disease, lung cancer, chronic lung disease, stroke, respiratory infections, and type 2 diabetes. The large dataset in this study is the first to estimate global contributions from more than 20 individual sources of pollution from sectors such as agriculture, transportation, energy production, waste and residential energy use. It is also the first to study the global impact of certain fuels such as solid biomass, coal, oil and natural gas.