Air pollution is the biggest threat to health, most countries fail to control it: Report

The biggest threat to health on a global scale

These figures clearly show that particulate pollution is the biggest threat to health globally. The harm from pollution is equal to that from smoking. It is more than 4 times more harmful than excessive drinking, more than 5 times more harmful than road accidents such as car crashes and more than 6 times more harmful than HIV/AIDS.

Know what is in the report

The scale of the pollution problem varies widely around the world. People living in the most polluted places breathe air that is six times more polluted than the air available to people living in the least polluted places. People living in the most polluted places have lost 2.7 years of life expectancy. Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, developed the AQLI in collaboration with the Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) at the University of Chicago. According to Greenstone, air pollution remains a global problem, but its most adverse effects are concentrated in a relatively small number of countries and in some places it is reducing life expectancy by many years, in some areas by more than 6 years.

This update is for different countries

According to the report, one-third of the world's population lives in areas that do not meet the standards of their countries. If these countries meet their standards, then 2.5 billion people here will be able to live an average of 1.2 years longer. According to Tanushree Ganguly, director of AQLI, setting ambitious standards is one aspect of solving this problem, but implementing policies and monitoring mechanisms that help achieve these standards is equally important. Some countries are succeeding in this and this is proof that a solution to air pollution can be found.

Of the 94 countries that have set standards, 37 are not meeting them. More than half of the countries and territories have not set any standards at all. Overall, 77 percent of countries and territories around the world either do not meet their national standards or have no national standards at all. According to Christa Hasenkopf, director of EPIC's Clean Air Program, there is often no consistent information about the true state of the problem, with little or no air quality data in highly polluted countries.

South Asia

The reduction in global pollution in 2022 was almost entirely driven by South Asia, where the situation turned around and a major drop in pollution was recorded. After more than a decade of continuous increase in pollution, the region saw a 18 percent reduction in pollution in a year. While it is difficult to conclusively determine the causes of this decline, meteorological factors such as above-normal rainfall have played a significant role in it and only time will tell whether policy changes are having any effect. Despite this major decline, it remains the most polluted region in the world and accounts for 45 percent of the total loss of life due to high pollution. If pollution is permanently reduced to the World Health Organization standard, the life of the average person living in these countries could increase by 3.5 years.

Middle East and North Africa

Pollution is constantly increasing in the Middle East and North Africa. The year 2022 was no exception. Pollution increased by 13 percent this year. If this high level of pollution continues, the inhabitants of the region risk losing life expectancy by about 1.3 years on average. At the same time, in the most polluted countries of the region such as Qatar, which is the fourth most polluted country in the world after South Asian countries, people are expected to lose 3 to 4 years. Except for Saudi Arabia and Egypt, no country in the region has national pollution standards.

Central and West Africa

Air pollution in sub-Saharan Africa is as big a threat to health as common diseases in the region such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and unsafe water-borne diseases. Air pollution is reducing the life expectancy of people in the most polluted areas of the region by up to 5 years. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea are among the ten most polluted countries in the world. Yet many countries in the region not only have no standards, but they lack the monitoring and transparent pollution data networks needed to help set appropriate standards.

China

The challenge of reducing air pollution worldwide may seem daunting, but China has achieved remarkable success. In 2014, pollution was reduced by 41 percent compared to 2013, a year before the war on pollution began. If this reduction continues, these improvements are expected to increase the life expectancy of the average Chinese citizen by 2 years. China still accounts for 20 percent of the world's total air pollution. If China met the WHO standard for pollution, the life expectancy of its average citizen could increase by 2.3 years.

Southeast Asia

Like South Asia, most of Southeast Asia also saw a drop in pollution in 2022. Pollution levels remain dangerously high and largely unchanged for the past two decades. Nearly all Southeast Asians breathe air that is considered unsafe by the World Health Organization's standard, reducing average life expectancy by 1.2 years.

latin america

In many parts of Latin America, such as Colombia, the loss in life expectancy due to air pollution is comparable to that due to violence. The average air quality across the region is unsafe but relatively mild. The most polluted areas in the region, located in Guatemala, Bolivia and Peru, have pollution levels similar to those in South Asia. If the air quality in these areas were up to the World Health Organization standard, the average resident's life expectancy would increase by 4 years.

United States

In the United States, Americans are exposed to 67.2 percent less particulate pollution than before the Clean Air Act of 1970 was passed, and live 1.5 years longer. Yet 94 percent of the country still does not meet the WHO standard (5 µg/m3). This year the EPA implemented a much stricter standard for particulate pollution (10 µg/m3). If this standard is achieved, the total life years gained would be 1.9 billion. 10 of the top 20 most polluted counties in 2022 were located in California and this was due to wildfires.

Europe

Policies such as the EU Air Quality Framework Directive have helped reduce pollution by about 30.2 percent since 1998. This has increased the life expectancy of residents by 5.6 months. Yet 96.8 percent of Europe still does not meet the WHO standard. In 2022 the EU proposed reducing its 25 µg/m³ standard to 10 µg/m³ by 2030, but 75 percent of the population will not meet this standard. The most polluted regions are in Eastern Europe, where residents live 4.8 months less than their western neighbors due to polluted air. If all EU countries met the proposed standard, a total of 56.4 billion life years would be gained.