Pollution chokes global economies and heats up the planet as well

Climate change, wildfires, and air pollution have significant and interconnected impacts on human health.These exacerbate existing health problems and pose new challenges due to changing weather patterns, rising temperatures, and extreme events like heatwaves, floods, and storms.Air pollution has found to be a leading environmental health risk, responsible for millions of premature deaths worldwide each year. It includes particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide.Ninety-nine per cent of humanity breathes polluted air – leading to an estimated 8mn premature deaths – including more than 700,000 children under five, according to the United Nations (UN).Pollution is also choking economies and heating up our planet, adding fuel to the fire of the climate crisis. And it disproportionally affects those most vulnerable in society, including women, children, and older persons.Yet, pollution is a silent killer that can be stopped!In the context of this year’s International Day for Clean air and Blue Skies on September 7, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said pollution is a silent killer that can be stopped and urged the world to "invest now, so we can breathe easy”.He stressed how harmful pollution can be, noting that 99% of humanity breathes polluted air which leads to millions of global premature deaths."Pollution is also choking economies and heating up our planet, adding fuel to the fire of the climate crisis,” the UN chief said. "And it disproportionally affects those most vulnerable in society, including women, children, and older persons.”The Secretary-General said investing in clean air will take action from governments, businesses, development organisations and more at a regional and global level.The United Nations is also encouraging the relevant stakeholders to decrease their use of fossil fuels, transition to clean cooking and increase air quality monitoring."Investing in clean air saves lives, combats climate change, strengthens economies, builds fairer societies, and advances the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said. "...let’s invest now so we can breathe easy knowing we are securing a healthier planet for all.”The message marking the international day highlights some of the challenges outlined in a new report from the UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which details the impacts of climate change, wildfires and air pollution on human health.The report noted that both the northern and southern hemispheres experienced "hyper-active wildfire seasons” in 2023, which caused numerous deaths and damaged livestock.Wildfires, which are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change, release large amounts of particulate matter and toxic gases into the atmosphere."The 2023 wildfire season set a multi-decade record in Canada in terms of total area burned, with seven times more hectares burned than the 1990–2013 average, according to the Canadian National Fire Database,” the report said.The wildfires also worsened air quality in eastern Canada and the north-eastern United States.For that reason, the WMO Deputy-Secretary-General Ko Barrett said climate change and air quality cannot be treated separately.Undoubtedly, environmental threats are creating a growing public health crisis, which requires co-ordinated global action to mitigate their impacts and protect vulnerable populations.