Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - According to a study published on Tuesday, chronic air pollution reduces average global life expectancy...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - According to a study published on Tuesday, chronic air pollution reduces average global life expectancy by more than two years per person, an effect equivalent to smoking and significantly worse than HIV/AIDS or terrorism.
According to the latest Air Quality Life Index from the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute (EPIC), which used satellite data to measure levels of PM2.5, hazardous floating particles that damage the lungs, more than 97 percent of the world's population lives in areas where air pollution exceeds recommended levels.
According to the study, lowering global PM2.5 levels to the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended threshold of five micrograms per cubic metre would increase average life expectancy by 2.2 years.
According to the report, air pollution has been overlooked as a public health issue, with funding to address the problem still insufficient.
"Now that we have a better understanding of pollution's effects, there's a greater case for governments to make it a top priority," said Christa Hasenkopf, director of EPIC's Air Quality Life Index.
According to the report, residents of South Asia lose an estimated five years of life due to smog, with India responsible for about 44 percent of the global rise in air pollution since 2013.
If WHO requirements are met, Chinese citizens might live 2.6 years longer on average, however life expectancy has risen by approximately two years since 2013, when the country launched a "war on pollution" that reduced PM2.5 by around 40%.
EPIC's findings were based on a prior study that found that an increase of 10 micrograms per cubic metre of PM2.5 reduced life expectancy by approximately a year.
According to an analysis of pollution data published earlier this year, no single country met the WHO's 5-microgram limit in 2021.
