Air pollution poses greater health risk

Air pollution is widely seen as the largest environmental health risk in the world.According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution combined are linked to nearly 7mn premature deaths every year, more than any other environmental risk factor.Air pollution contributes to a range of serious health issues, including stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer and respiratory infections.It is not only urban smog; indoor pollution from cooking with solid fuels or poorly ventilated heating systems is also a major cause in many developing regions.According to the World Bank, air pollution is the largest environmental health risk costing the global economy $8.1tn a year or 6.1% of global GDP.In 2024, the world saw a huge amount of attention on air quality, according to the World Economic Forum.The EU parliament adopted a provisional deal to bring the Ambient Air Quality Directive (AAQD) closer towards World Health Organisation guidelines, US Environmental Protection Agency announced stricter air quality standards for pollution and United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) adopted a resolution on promoting regional co-operation on air pollution to improve air quality globally.At the local level, ‘Breathe Cities’ gathered momentum with 14 cities to cut urban air pollution. Breathe Cities is a pioneering global initiative to reduce air pollution, cut carbon emissions, and improve public health in major cities around the world.Businesses are also starting to demonstrate co-benefits of climate mitigation by taking an integrated approach with air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2021, the World Economic Forum launched the Alliance for Clean Air to spark private sector action to improve air quality across value chains.Tackling and reducing short-lived climate pollutants is also seen as an immediate concern. Black carbon has a warming effect 1,500 times greater than that of CO2, poses significant health risks and is driving warming in the Arctic four times faster than the global average.Tackling methane is essential to help avoid 0.3C warming by 2045. According to the IEA, rapid cuts in methane emissions has a greater impact than immediately taking all cars and trucks in the world off the road. It’s critical this global issue gets the attention, funding, and action in the short term.Concurrently, there is a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss – components of the "triple planetary crisis” identified by the United Nations.The intricate links between these crises mean that addressing one necessitates considering the others. For instance, plastic pollution contributes to biodiversity loss and can exacerbate climate change through the release of greenhouse gases during degradation.A report by WEF shows that every year, the world produces over 430mn tonnes of plastic, yet only about 9% is recycled. This leads to approximately 19mn tonnes of plastic waste leaking into our environment annually.Of this, 13mn tonnes contaminate our land, and 6mn tonnes flow into rivers and coastlines, eventually reaching our oceans – equivalent to one garbage truck dumping its load every minute.Plastic pollution, as a tangible manifestation of environmental degradation, has heightened public awareness and urgency. Individuals encounter plastic waste in their surroundings, from urban areas to remote natural landscapes, making the issue both personal and pervasive. This immediacy propels pollution higher in short-term risk assessments.Globally, air pollution poses a greater health risk than unsafe water, poor sanitation, or many chemical exposures. Its scale and ubiquity make it the top environmental driver of disease and early mortality.