Study says air pollution kills three million per year

“Everybody breathes the ambient air, so it affects everyone, so even small risks can translate into major burdens of disease”, says Michael Jerrett from the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, in a commentary accompanying the published study. While air pollution stemming from cooking and heating is prevalent here, in the US and a few other states where data could be retrieved, power generation based on fossil fuels and transport account for the majority of pollutants in the air.

They used an advanced atmospheric chemistry model, reports Forbes, which has allowed them to actually see and determine what may be causing premature death with regard to air pollution around the world.

They used those to calculate the concentrations of fine particle matter in air pollution over time and from different emissions sources around the world. The United States ranked seventh in world for premature death by air pollution. According to researchers, the disturbing results of this study indicate that air quality controls should become effective immediately, especially in Asian regions with a high population density.

Most of the deaths were in developing countries.

The research team thinks that the problem may be solved if countries switch to green energy and fuels.

About three quarters of these deaths are the result of heart attacks and strokes.

Oliver Wild, who is an atmospheric scientist with Lancaster University, U.K, concluded that the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry study brings home a pressing need to monitor air quality worldwide and take measure to curb the toll on human lives and the environment.

Examining the specific emission source of the pollutants was an important aspect of this study, researchers said.

Scientists focused on the most damaging of air pollutants, primarily particulates with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres.

While pollution levels have been steadily curbed in the US and Europe, particulate pollution is on the rise across much of Asia. “This can be a win-win situation”. In the United Kingdom, almost half of all pollution-related deaths are tied to agricultural pollution, according to the study.

The problem of domestic fires are largely concentrated in Asia and Africa.

The study examined fires in the Brazilian Amazon and found that roughly 400 to 1,700 premature deaths per year might have been avoided as a result of large reductions in blazes lit to clear forest for farming and other agriculture activities like plantations.

The authors also highlighted the importance of reducing tropical deforestation in order to mitigate the dangers of climate change.