Air pollution
In 2010, the cooling towers of a power station in Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa collapsed during a controlled demolition. Dust and debris rose into the air as large concrete structures fell. This scene illustrates how construction and demolition produce coarse particles that pollute the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels for electricity generates more pollution than oil or gas. Lignite and coal are the primary culprits. Methane leaks occur frequently during oil and gas production. Oil refineries release a wide range of pollutants. Plastic and rubber manufacturing create hazardous air contaminants. Chloroform forms during water chlorination processes. Arsenic appears in mining industry emissions. Many polluting industries have moved from richer nations to countries like China. China has also begun pushing its most polluting industries out of its borders.
The World Health Organization estimates that 6.7 million people die from air pollution each year. Four point two million of these deaths result from outdoor air pollution. Indoor particulate pollution causes another three point one million deaths annually. Ozone contributes to five hundred thousand premature deaths globally. Outdoor particulate matter was the largest cause of death with four point seven million fatalities. Coronary heart disease and stroke account for roughly sixty-eight percent of outdoor air pollution-related premature deaths. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease represents fourteen percent of these deaths. Lung infections make up another fourteen percent. The Harvard Six Cities study published in 1993 established a definitive link between fine particulate pollution and higher death rates in urban areas. Fine particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers can enter the bloodstream via the lungs and reach other organs.
In 2019, India and Pakistan had PM2.5 concentrations around fifty micrograms per cubic meter. China recorded levels near thirty-five while Indonesia sat at fifteen and the United States at eight. Rural areas typically have somewhat cleaner air than urban areas. Ninety-seven percent of the global population is classified as exposed to unsafe levels of fine particles under new WHO guidelines. Residents in public housing are generally low-income and cannot easily move to healthier neighborhoods. They face high exposure to nearby refineries and chemical plants. Blacks and Latinos in the United States generally face more pollution than Whites and Asians. Polluting industries and roads are more likely to be placed in poorer communities. People in these communities work outdoors leading to additional exposure. Lower-income communities often perform polluting activities such as using solid biofuels for cooking. In South and East Asia pregnant women frequently encounter indoor air pollution from wood and biomass fuels used for cooking.
A World Bank study found that PM2.5 pollution in 2019 cost the world economy over eight trillion dollars. This figure represents more than six percent of global GDP. Around eighty-five percent of this loss globally came from the loss of life. The rest resulted from increased ill health. In India and China the loss of GDP exceeded ten percent. The direct market impacts on productivity loss healthcare use and crop losses were estimated to rise to one percent of GDP by 2060 according to the OECD. The Caspian region and China would see the largest impact. Air pollution reduces the amount of sunlight reaching solar panels. It also causes the panels to become dirty further reducing energy output. A study estimated that for a one percent increase in ozone concentrations there would be a global economic loss of ten billion dollars each year. For PM2.5 a one percent increase in pollution levels leads to around five billion dollars in losses especially in colder climates.
Mummified remains of people in Peru Egypt and Britain show ancient sufferers from blackening of lungs caused by open fires. Recorded complaints of air pollution go back to the Greek and Roman period. Lead levels found in Arctic ice cores were about ten times higher in the Roman period than before. During the Industrial Revolution outdoor air pollution started to rise strongly due to large-scale burning of coal. By the nineteenth century buildings around industrial plants began to blacken while trees in public parks withered. Smoke-induced fogs reduced sunlight city-dwellers received contributing to cases of rickets. The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution during the 1952 Great Smog of London with some twelve thousand deaths. This event led to the Clean Air Act 1956. The 1948 Donora smog in the US killing twenty people prompted American regulation efforts. The world's worst pollution disaster was the 1984 Bhopal Disaster in India where leaked industrial vapors killed at least twenty thousand people.
The Montreal Protocol phased out harmful ozone-depleting chemicals worldwide after being ratified globally. In 1975 scientists discovered that certain chemicals caused a hole in the ozone layer. The 1997 Kyoto Protocol introduced modest reduction targets for some countries but lacked strong enforcement. The 2015 Paris Agreement set no binding limits instead encouraging all countries to raise ambition over time. Although a majority of countries have air pollution laws forty-three percent lack a legal definition of air pollution. Thirty-four percent lack outdoor air quality standards and just thirty-one percent have laws for tackling pollution from outside borders. Few countries have limits as strict as World Health Organization recommendations. The U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards specify maximum atmospheric concentrations for specific pollutants. The European Union has fined individual countries including France for not complying with air quality rules. In 2022 the UN General Assembly passed a resolution recognizing the right to a clean healthy and sustainable environment as a human right.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
What caused the 1952 Great Smog of London and how many people died?
The United Kingdom suffered its worst air pollution during the 1952 Great Smog of London with some twelve thousand deaths. This event led to the Clean Air Act 1956.
How many people die from air pollution each year according to the World Health Organization?
The World Health Organization estimates that 6.7 million people die from air pollution each year. Four point two million of these deaths result from outdoor air pollution while indoor particulate pollution causes another three point one million deaths annually.
When did scientists discover chemicals causing a hole in the ozone layer?
In 1975 scientists discovered that certain chemicals caused a hole in the ozone layer. The Montreal Protocol phased out harmful ozone-depleting chemicals worldwide after being ratified globally.
Which countries had the highest PM2.5 concentrations in 2019?
In 2019, India and Pakistan had PM2.5 concentrations around fifty micrograms per cubic meter. China recorded levels near thirty-five while Indonesia sat at fifteen and the United States at eight.
What economic cost did PM2.5 pollution impose on the world economy in 2019?
A World Bank study found that PM2.5 pollution in 2019 cost the world economy over eight trillion dollars. This figure represents more than six percent of global GDP with around eighty-five percent of this loss coming from the loss of life.