Do Air Pollution and Climate Matter for Health?

No AccessFeb 2023Do Air Pollution and Climate Matter for Health?Authors/Editors: Grzegorz Peszko, Markus Amann, Yewande Awe, Gary Kleiman, and Tamer Samah RabieGrzegorz PeszkoSearch for more papers by this author, Markus AmannSearch for more papers by this author, Yewande AweSearch for more papers by this author, Gary KleimanSearch for more papers by this author, and Tamer Samah RabieSearch for more papers by this authorhttps://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1835-6_ch1AboutView ChaptersFull TextPDF (0.5 MB) ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In Abstract: Reports that the Global Burden of Disease Lancet study ranks ambient air pollution (AAP) as the fourth-largest level-2 health risk factor for global deaths in 2019 (Global Health Metrics 2020). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates almost 4.2 million people died prematurely from AAP and almost 3.8 million people died from household air pollution (HAP) in 2016. More than 90 percent of the world’s population lives in places where air quality exceeds WHO guideline limits. The link between emissions of greenhouse gases and health remains indirect and delayed, as climate pollutants cause global warming which remains associated with more frequent and intense occurrence of extreme weather events harmful to humans. Local air pollutants account for an annual global welfare loss estimated at $4.6 trillion to $5.11 trillion—equivalent to more than 6 percent of global GDP. The welfare cost proves highest in South Asia and in upper-middle-income countries, and lowest in the Americas and low-income countries. ReferencesBowe, B, Y Xie, T Li, Y Yan, H Xian, and Z Al-Aly. 2018. “The 2016 Global and National Burden of Diabetes Mellitus Attributable to PM2.5 Air Pollution.” Lancet Planetary Health 2 (7): 301–12. doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(18)30140-2. Google ScholarCarey, Ian M, H Ross Anderson, Richard W Atkinson, Sean D Beevers, Derek G Cook, David P Strachan, David Dajnak, John Gulliver, and Frank J Kelly. 2018. “Are Noise and Air Pollution Related to the Incidence of Dementia? A Cohort Study in London, England.” BMJ Open 8: e022404. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022404. Google ScholarEbi, Kristie, Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, and Arthur Wyns. 2018. “The 1.5 Health Report: Synthesis on Health and Climate Science in the IPCC SR1.5.” World Health Organization, Geneva. http://www.who.int/globalchange/181008_the_1_5_healthreport.pdf?ua=1. Google ScholarEzziane, Z 2013. “The Impact of Air Pollution on Low Birth Weight and Infant Mortality.” Review of Environmental Health 28 (2–3): 107–15. doi:10.1515/reveh-2013-0007. Google ScholarFiore, Arlene M, Vaishali Naik, Dominick V Spracklen, Allison Steiner, Nadine Unger, Michael Prather, and Dan Bergmann, et al. 2012. “Global Air Quality and Climate.” Chemical Society Reviews 41: 6663–83. doi:10.1039/c2cs35095e. Google ScholarGlobal Health Metrics. 2020. “Global Burden of 87 Risk Factors in 204 Countries and Territories, 1990–2019: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.” The Lancet 396 (10258): 1223–49. Google ScholarHeger, Martin and Maria Sarraf. 2018. “Air Pollution in Tehran: Health Costs, Sources, and Policies.” Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice Discussion Paper 6, World Bank, Washington, DC. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29909. Google ScholarHoek, G, R M Krishnan, R Beelen, A Peters, B Ostro, B Brunekreef, and J D Kaufman. 2013. “Long-Term Air Pollution Exposure and Cardio-Respiratory Mortality: A Review.” Environmental Health 12 (1): 43. doi:10.1186/1476-069X-12-43. Google ScholarJacob, D J and D A Winner. 2009. “Effect of Climate Change on Air Quality.” Atmospheric Environment 43 (1): 51–63. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.09.051. Google ScholarKirtman, Ben, Scott B Power, Akintayo John Adedoyin, George J Boer, Roxana Bojariu, Ines Camilloni, and Francisco Doblas-Reyes, et al. 2013. “Near-Term Climate Change: Projections and Predictability.” In Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis, Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 953–1028 Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Google ScholarLandrigan, P J, R Fuller, N J R Acosta, O Adeyi, R Arnold, N N Basu, and A B Baldé, et al. 2018. “The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.” Lancet 391 (10119): 462–512. Google ScholarMills, I C, R W Atkinson, S Kang, H Walton, and H R Anderson. 2015. “Quantitative Systematic Review of the Associations between Short-Term Exposure to Nitrogen Dioxide and Mortality and Hospital Admissions.” BMJ Open 5: e006946. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006946. Google ScholarSchnell, Jordan L and Michael J Prather. 2017. “Co-Occurrence of Extremes in Surface Ozone, Particulate Matter, and Temperature over Eastern North America.” The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1614453114. Google ScholarShin, J, J Y Park, and J Choi. 2018. “Long-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollutants and Mental Health Status: A Nationwide Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study.” PLoS One 13 (4): e0195607. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0195607. Google ScholarShindell, DT 2015. “The Social Cost of Atmospheric Release.” Climatic Change 130 (2): 313–326. doi.org/10.1007/s10584-015-1343-0. Google ScholarSilva, R A, J J West, Y Zhang, S C Anenberg, J-F Lamarque, D T Shindell, and W J Collins, et al. 2013. “Global Premature Mortality Due to Anthropogenic Outdoor Air Pollution and the Contribution of Past Climate Change.” Environmental Research Letters 8 (3): 034005. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/034005. (See https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/031002forcorrection.) Google ScholarWorld Bank and IHME (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation). 2016. The Cost of Air Pollution: Strengthening the Economic Case for Action. Washington, DC: World Bank. Google ScholarXu, X, S U Ha, and R Basnet. 2016. “A Review of Epidemiological Research on Adverse Neurological Effects of Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution.” Frontiers in Public Health 4: 157. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2016.00157. Google Scholar Previous chapterNext chapter FiguresreferencesRecommendeddetails View Published: February 2023ISBN: 978-1-4648-1835-6 Copyright & Permissions Related TopicsEnvironmentHealth Nutrition and Population KeywordsAIR POLLUTIONCLIMATE CHANGEENVIRONMENTAL POLICYAIR QUALITYENVIRONMENTAL RISK MANAGEMENTGREENHOUSE GASESGHGSEMISSION REDUCTIONSENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONBURDEN OF DISEASEWORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATIONWHOEXTREME WEATHER EVENTS PDF DownloadLoading ...