Air pollution
Air pollution affects millions of people worldwide. Both household and outdoor air pollution pose severe threats related to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancers, and other conditions.
Photo by Sergei Karpukhin, Reuters.
How does air pollution stack up against other health issues?
Although death rates from air pollution overall have dropped by 46% from 1990 to 2021, the total number of deaths caused by ambient particulate matter rose 93% from 1990 to 2021. It now constitutes the 2nd most deadly health risk worldwide, based on the "level 2" categorization of risk factors.
Learn more about Global Burden of Disease (GBD) risk factor and cause levels and how they impact rankings in the GBD terms defined.
How do different types of air pollution affect health?
- Outdoor air pollution consists of gases and tiny particles of solids or liquids that are suspended in the air, often called ambient particulate matter. This type of pollution comes from sources such as dust storms, forest fires, residential heating and cooking, agriculture, industry, and power production. Ambient particulate matter pollution is an important cause of premature death and illness worldwide.
- Ozone and nitrogen dioxide pollution are both elements of outdoor air pollution, linked to serious health conditions. Ozone pollution contributes to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) while nitrogen dioxide, a common marker of traffic-related pollution, is connected to childhood asthma.
- Household air pollution is also a major issue, mainly in rural areas of low-income countries. This results from burning solid fuels, such as wood, dung, and plant matter, while cooking indoors.
- Breathing polluted air has been linked to lower respiratory infections like pneumonia, cardiovascular disease – including ischemic heart disease and stroke – lung cancer, chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD, diabetes, and lower birthweight and premature births.
- Household air pollution and ambient particulate matter pollution are among the top risk factors for loss of healthy life years, according to the Global Burden of Disease study.
Air pollution's link to dementia
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) carried out the largest-ever study synthesizing evidence of air pollution and dementia.
Key findings
The latest data from the Global Burden of Disease study reveals the extent and effects of air pollution on global health worldwide.
Air pollution is the 2nd leading risk factor for death.
Air pollution is one of the top threats to global health, surpassed only by high blood pressure.
South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are most affected by air pollution.
The highest average exposure rates for ambient particulate matter air pollution were seen in Qatar, Egypt, and Bahrain, with the greatest per capita health loss in Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
Globally, 99% of the world’s population – over 8 billion people – may live in areas with unhealthy air, as defined by the WHO Air Quality Guideline.
Household air pollution remains a serious threat to global health.
Around 47% of the world’s population, or about 3.6 billion people, are exposed to household air pollution from the burning of solid fuels for cooking (coal, crop waste, charcoal, wood, among others).
Despite reductions globally, this major cause of household air pollution contributes the most to health loss in low- and middle-income regions of Asia, Oceania, and Africa.
