According to a new study published by the lancet planet health, 9 million people died of pollution in 2019, accounting for one sixth of the global death toll. Rich fuller and colleagues of the Swiss global health and pollution alliance first assessed the impact of pollution on premature death in 2015 and also found that pollution caused 9 million deaths.
To reveal how pollution related deaths may have changed, the team repeated the 2019 analysis using data from the ongoing global disease burden study.
"In fact, no one died directly from pollution." Fuller said, "they died because pollution caused them to catch diseases that eventually killed them."
The team found that the total number of pollution related deaths was the same as in 2015. However, as many countries shift to cleaner fuels, the number of deaths from household air pollution, especially indoor wood burning, fell from 2.9 million in 2015 to 2.3 million in 2019.
However, the death toll from outdoor air pollution rose from 4.2 million to 4.5 million. Fuller said this was due to the increase in the number of cars and factories. Burning fossil fuels releases fine particles with a maximum diameter of 2.5 microns, called PM2 5。 It may enter our bodies and be associated with heart disease and some cancers.
Lead pollution is also increasing worldwide, but the reason is unclear. In 2015, researchers estimated that lead pollution caused 500000 deaths, compared with at least 900000 at present.
Overall, more than 90% of pollution related deaths occur in low - and middle-income countries, the team said. "A lot of pollution comes from the rapid industrialization of these countries." Fuller said.
The latest analysis is based on data prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the UK, the blockade temporarily reduced the number of vehicles on the road and alleviated the symptoms of patients such as asthma. But fuller said the impact of the epidemic on future pollution analysis is unclear.
"I'm not surprised by the number of premature deaths from pollution around the world." "The most worrying thing is that we have not taken measures to solve this problem," said Eloise Marais of University College London.
Fuller hopes that these findings will help to better monitor and raise pollution awareness.