Air pollution is the most impactful health hazard leading to premature mortality worldwide. To address the issue, policymakers in the environmental health sectors are growing their expectations and demand from industry leaders to take measures to reduce carbon footprints.
“Air pollution is the contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution”.
The study conducted by Global Burden of Disease in 2019 stated that pollutants from delicate matter caused 6.4 million premature deaths and 93 billion days lived with illness in 2019.
The World Bank addressed that more than 90% of the countries in the world population are exposed to bad air quality that exceeded the WHO Air Quality Guideline. Poor air quality aggravates the health of vulnerable infants, women, and older adults worst than ever.
10 Facts about Air Pollution:
Here are some astonishing facts about Air Pollution that everyone must know to realise the responsibility towards reducing it.
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 9 out of 10 of the population lives in places where air pollution has exceeded critical levels affecting health. Africa, Eastern Europe, India, China and the Middle East are the highlighted regional danger zones.
- Nearly 800 people are dying every single hour and 13 people every minute, accounting for three times the number of people who die from major diseases like AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.
- Recently researchers have been paying attention to studies with an association between the respiratory system and pollution. A tiny particle found in air pollution, known as PM 2.5 with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometres, can easily penetrate deep into the human lungs and cardiovascular system, aggravating the risk of disease.
- There is a wrong perception of keeping car windows closed to stay safe from pollution, but that can expose you to 8 times more air pollution than a cyclist.
- Households are also significant contributors to air pollution, which causes about 3.8 million premature deaths/year, including 60% women and children in developing countries.
- 12% of the total deaths caused due to stroke are because of the daily exposure to household air pollution built from cooking with kerosene or solid fuels.
- Similar pollutants like Black carbon and soot are significant contributors to climate change and local air quality, produced by cookstoves and engines.
- A recent report released in 2020 by Greenpeace Southeast Asia estimated that the economic cost of air pollution-related deaths is $2.9 trillion.
- Air Quality Life index AQLI revealed in the report 2021 that India is the highest air pollutant on the planet, losing 5.9 years of their lives due to the poor air quality.
- It is estimated that almost 11 million cars are designed to cheat air pollutants tests. The German car giant Volkswagen admitted that they had fitted the defeat device- software to millions of its diesel vehicles to spew out less filth than the car emits in real.
Unveiling the facts about air pollution brings in the need for air quality to be controlled to reduce the death rate and the effect on climate change, further improving the air quality, reducing smogs and wildfires.
A recent Harvard University study revealed a positive correlation between air pollution and Covid -19 mortalities due to which virus is spreading faster.
We must take the responsibility to step ahead and take initiatives individually to reduce the emission of carbon and fossil fuels combustions for better air quality. Like a company named Kineflux in Malaysia has come forward with a tremendous innovative device, being prime movers who strive to save fuel costs, gain more mileage with less fuel consumption and be responsible for the environment using the AIC® (Active Intercooler) with one year warranty by Kineflux.