Air pollution caused 135,000 premature deaths since 1980

Air pollution caused by emissions from human activities and other sources, such as forest fires, has been connected to about 135 million premature deaths worldwide between 1980 and 2020, according to a study issued on Monday by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

The university clarified that weather phenomena like El Niño and the Indian Ocean Dipole (a natural climate phenomenon resulting from differences in sea surface temperatures) worsened the effects of pollutants by increasing their concentration in the air.

The issue of fine particles was related to “about 135 million premature deaths worldwide” between 1980 and 2020, according to what the university reported in a statement regarding the study published by the journal “Environment International.”

Fine PM2.5 particles, with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns, generate harm to human health if inhaled because their smallness permits them to reach the blood circulation. They come from industrial compounds and emissions, in addition to natural sources such as blazes and dust storms.

The study discovered that these individuals died at a younger age than average life expectancy due to diseases that could have been treated or prevented, including strokes, heart and lung diseases, and cancer.

Weather phenomena contributed to an upsurge in these deaths by 14 percent, according to the study.

It pointed out that “the largest number of premature deaths attributed to pollution with PM 2.5 particles was registered in Asia, as it surpassed 98 million cases, most of them in China and India.”

Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Japan also saw a large number of premature deaths, varying between two million and five million.

This is the most comprehensive study to date concerning air quality and climate, as it was founded on 40 years of data documented to provide an overview of the effects of fine particulate matter on health.

Study director and assistant Professor at the Asian Environment Institute of Nanyang Technological University, Steve Yim, stated that the findings he and his team reached “show that climate changes can exacerbate air pollution.”

“When some weather phenomena, such as El Niño, happen, pollution levels may increase, which means more people may die prematurely due to PM2.5 fine particle pollution,” Yim added.

Researchers from universities in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and China partook in the study.

According to the World Health Organization, the “combined effects of ambient and indoor air pollution” are linked to 6.7 million premature deaths each year worldwide.