PM2.5 Air Pollution Responsible for 4.2 Million Deaths

Over half the world's population lives without the protection of proper air quality standards

Study reveals that more than half of the world's population is living without implementing adequate air quality standards.

PM2.5 is a type of air pollution responsible for the most deaths worldwide, causing approximately 4.2 million premature deaths every year across the world - including more than a million deaths in China, over half a million in India, around 200,000 in Europe, and over 50,000 in the US.

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‘Over half the world's population lives without the protection of proper air quality standards’
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It consists of particles (smaller than 2.5 microns) so small that billions of them can fit inside a single red blood cell.

Parisa Ariya, co-author, says, "In Canada, about 5,900 people die every year from air pollution, according to Health Canada's estimates. Air pollution kills almost as many Canadians every three years as COVID-19 killed to date."

Yevgen Nazarenko conducted the study with Devendra Pal under Ariya’s supervision. "We adopted unprecedented measures to protect people from COVID-19, yet we don't do enough to avoid the millions of preventable deaths caused by air pollution every year," says Nazarenko.

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Findings revealed that places with protection have worse standards than what is considered safe by WHO. Like the Middle East, regions with the most air pollution don't even measure PM2.5 air pollution.

In addition, in countries like China and India, even the weakest air quality standards are often violated, while countries like Canada and Australia meet even the strictest standards.

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However, the researchers surprisingly discovered that high population density does not always act as a barrier to fighting air pollution. Many densely populated areas like Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic have successfully set and enforced strict standards.

Nazarenko explains that more than half of the world urgently needs protection from PM2.5 with ambient air quality standards, which will save countless lives.

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"Even in developed countries, we must work harder to clean up our air to save hundreds of thousands of lives every year. And where standards are already in place, they should be harmonized globally," he adds.

Source-Medindia