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Air Pollution kills Millions Every Year. |
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The scientists from the US, Canada, China and India, who presented their findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington said that air pollution kills more than 5.5 million people around the world each year, with over half of those deaths occurring in fast-growing China and India. And the number of premature deaths will continue to rise in the years ahead unless more aggressive measures against pollution are adopted. Air pollution is the fourth highest risk factor for death globally and by far the leading environmental risk factor for diseases. Air pollution ranks behind high blood pressure, diet and smoking as the fourth greatest risk factor for fatalities worldwide, according to the Global Burden of Disease study, done by the Institute for Health Metrics. "Reducing air pollution is an incredibly efficient way to improve the health of a population," said Brauer. China and India account for 55 percent of yearly global deaths from air pollution. Some 1.6 million people died of air pollution in China in 2013, while India saw 1.4 million deaths. In China, burning coal is the biggest contributor to poor air quality and pollution from coal was found to have caused 366,000 deaths in 2013, said Qiao Ma, a PhD student at the School of Environment at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. She projected that air pollution will cause anywhere from 990,000 to 1.3 million premature deaths in 2030 unless more ambitious targets are introduced. There is urgent need for even more aggressive strategies to reduce emissions from coal and from other sectors. In India, the main culprit was burning wood, dung and biomass for cooking and heating. This "indoor pollution" causes far more deaths than "outdoor pollution". "India needs a three-pronged mitigation approach to address industrial coal burning, open burning for agriculture, and household air pollution sources," said Chandra Venkataraman, professor of Chemical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, in Mumbai, India. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines, pollution should be restricted to a daily particulate matter of 25 micrograms per cubic meter. In February, Beijing and New Delhi typically see daily levels at or above 300 micrograms per cubic meter or 1,200 percent higher than WHO guidelines, researchers said. More than 85 percent of the global population lives in areas where the World Health Organization Air Quality Guideline is exceeded.
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6 Comments
Indeed air pollution remains as one of the leading causes of deaths around the world. I can really relate to the contents of your report. In my case, although Bangladesh is developing rapidly over the years, its air quality in urban areas is degrading. Immediate measures must be taken by the public as well as the private sector to combat air pollution.
Posted 07-03-2016 06:05
Air pollution is a grave menace. It must be controlled by all means.
Posted 06-03-2016 15:29
Well written my friend! Air pollution is indeed an issues to ponder about in the developing countries..We have to amend the laws and bring in stricter laws to govern our environment..
Posted 05-03-2016 02:02
Air pollution seems to be one of the major cause of global warming and climate change. ot that alone, it has led to increase in diseases like tuberculosis and cancer Nigeria is also experiencing similar problems in the Niger Delta and industrial cities. urgent and serious actions needs to be take to curb the effect. thanks Tanverjit
Posted 04-03-2016 23:24
Air pollution is harmful to environment, humans, animals, birds and the entire ecosystem. Thus it should be tackled by local municipalities/governments on priority. Thanks for emphasising it's seriousness.
Posted 04-03-2016 17:40
It is alarming that air pollution is the fourth greatest risk factor that affect our lives and that
'more than 85 percent of the global population' live under such circumstance. One positive perspective is that, at least, air pollution is quite visible and thus drives out demands to the governments for solutions compared to other environmental issues. I recently read an interesting article relating to your topic. I share this in case you haven't read! And thanks for writing about this issue!
(http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/08/asia/china-pollution-artist/)
Posted 04-03-2016 14:41