Particulate air pollution remains the largest external risk to human health, but its impact on global life expectancy is mainly concentrated in just six countries
As global pollution increased in 2021, so did the burden on human health, according to new data from the University of Chicago’s Air Quality Living Index (AQLI). If the world permanently reduced particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline, the average human life expectancy would increase by 2.3 years, a total saving of 17,800 million life years around the world.
These data make it clear that particulate matter pollution remains the greatest external risk to human health. The impact on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, more than three times higher than that of alcohol consumption and contaminated water, and more than five times higher than that of traffic accidents. However, the problem of pollution in the world is very uneven.
“Three quarters of air pollution’s impact on global life expectancy occurs in just six countries: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China, Nigeria and Indonesia, where people lose between one and more years of life due to the air they breathe.” says Michael Greenstone, Milton Friedman Distinguished Professor of Economics and founder of the AQLI with his colleagues at the University of Chicago Energy Policy Institute (EPIC). “Over the past five years, local AQLI data on air quality and its health impacts has attracted significant media and political coverage, but there is opportunity to supplement this annual data with more frequent data – for example daily – that is generated locally. “
In fact, many polluted countries lack basic air pollution infrastructure. Asia and Africa are the two most poignant examples. They account for 92.7% of life years lost to pollution. However, Only 6.8% and 3.7% of governments in Asia and Africa respectively make full air quality data available to their citizens. In addition, only 35.6% and 4.9% of countries in Asia and Africa have air quality standards, which are the basic element of prevention policies.
Today’s collective investments in global air quality infrastructure are also at odds with the places where air pollution is most damaging to human life. While there is a major global fund for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis that allocates US$4 billion annually to address these issues, there are no equivalent coordinated resources for air pollution. In fact, the entire African continent receives less than $300,000 in air pollution philanthropy (equivalent to the current average price of a single-family home in the United States). Only $1.4 million goes to Asia, not counting China and India. For their part, Europe, the United States and Canada will receive $34 million, according to the Clean Air Fund.
“In particular, timely, reliable and open air quality data can be the backbone of civil society and governments’ clean air efforts, providing the information that people and governments lack and enabling better-informed policy decisions,” says Christa Hasenkopf, Director of the air quality programs of AQLI and EPIC. “Hopefully, we see a tremendous opportunity to help turn the tide by better targeting and increasing our funding to collectively build the infrastructure that is lacking today.”
REFERENCE
Air Quality Life Index. Annual update August 2023