The study also looked into possible health advantages of laws supporting the switch to sustainable energy. In India, air pollution is the second biggest cause of death worldwide after China, accounting for 2.18 million fatalities yearly.
Air pollution, especially that caused by fossil fuels, is highly dangerous for public health. The startling figures are illuminated by a recent study that was published in The BMJ. It shows that air pollution linked to fossil fuels causes 5.1 million extra deaths globally year.
This explains a significant 61% of the 8.3 million projected fatalities in 2019 that are linked to ambient (outdoor) air pollution. The study highlights how crucial it is to switch from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy sources right away in order to lessen these detrimental effects on health.
A unique approach was used in the study, which involved experts from Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, to calculate the overall and cause-specific death toll from air pollution linked to fossil fuels. The study also looked into possible health advantages of laws supporting the switch to sustainable energy. The results show that the impact of deaths from fossil fuels is more than previously thought, underscoring the potential benefits of gradually eliminating fossil fuel use.
The researchers evaluated excess deaths using information from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study, population data, fine particulate matter detected by NASA satellites, and atmospheric chemistry models in order to reach their conclusions.
Four scenarios were examined: eliminating all sources of air pollution caused by fossil fuels entirely; reducing emissions by 25%, 50%, and all other human-induced sources to none; leaving only natural sources such as wildfires and dust in the desert.
Globally, ambient air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3), were responsible for 8.3 million deaths in 2019. Of those deaths, fossil fuels contributed significantly to 5.1 million deaths. This corresponds to 82% of the greatest number of fatalities from air pollution that might be prevented if all emissions caused by humans were controlled.
South and East Asia were the most affected, with China leading the way at 2.44 million deaths annually and India coming in second at 2.18 million. These deaths were related to ambient air pollution in all its forms.
The researchers found that common medical illnesses like diabetes (6%), ischemic heart disease (30%), stroke (16%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16%) were responsible for almost half (52%) of these deaths. Twenty percent of deaths were still unidentified, but high blood pressure and neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s were probably contributing factors.
Dr. Shuchin Bajaj, an internal medicine consultant at the Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals in New Delhi, voiced concerns regarding India’s air pollution crisis, a serious public health hazard. He emphasized the serious dangers that come with pollutants like sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter (PM), which can cause problems with the heart and lungs.
Dr. Bajaj underlined how extended exposure to these contaminants increases death rates, making children and the elderly particularly vulnerable.
