Health
Invisible particles penetrate cells and organs in our bodies – our lungs, heart, blood and brain. This leads to diseases like asthma, strokes, heart attacks, cancer and dementia, as well as low birth weight, stillbirths and miscarriages. Air pollution is a major risk factor for premature death:
- Air pollution is the largest external threat to human health worldwide. Source: Lancet: Global Burden of Disease.
- 8.1 million premature deaths annually are attributed to air pollution. Air pollution now kills more people than tobacco worldwide. Source: State of Global Air.
- 99% of people breathe air that exceeds World Health Organization’s guideline limits. Source: WHO.
- 9 out of 10 deaths attributed to outdoor air pollution are in low- and middle-income countries. Source: WHO.
- Every day, almost 2,000 young children die due to air pollution – more than one every minute. That makes it the second-leading cause of death in young children, after malnutrition. Source: State of Global Air.
- Worldwide, air pollution shortens average life expectancy by 2.2 years. Source: EPIC.
- Clean air measures have improved health for local people within weeks and months, as demonstrated by reduced numbers of hospitalisations for asthma, strokes and heart attacks and fewer premature births. Source: American Thoracic Society.
- China has adopted a range of clean air measures across sectors since 2014, cutting air pollution by around half and regaining two years of average life expectancy. Source: EPIC. Chinese researchers have identified a dramatic reduction in stillbirths in recent years, which they attribute to cleaner air. Source: Nature Communications.
Economy
Air pollution is bad for business. It hampers workforce productivity and damages overall economic activity:
- $8.1 trillion in annual global health costs. Source: World Bank.
- 6.1% reduction in global GDP. Source: World Bank.
- 1.2 billion work days lost globally each year, which could reach 3.8 billion days by 2060. Source: OECD.
- In the USA, every $1 spent on air pollution control yields an estimated $30 in economic benefits. Source: US EPA.
- Global crop yield losses of between 3-16%. Source: UNECE.
Climate change and environment
Air pollution exacerbates climate change, and harms biodiversity and ecosystems. Many air pollutants (like black carbon and tropospheric ozone) accelerate global warming, feeding the climate crisis:
- Super pollutants – also known as Short Lived Climate Pollutants – are responsible for up to 45% of current global temperature increases. Source: PNAS.
- Reducing super pollutants alongside decarbonisation could slow the rate of global warming by up to 0.5°C by 2050. Source: PNAS.
- 85% of all global air pollution comes from burning fossil fuels and biomass. Source: NCBI.
Funding
Despite the damage air pollution inflicts on our health, planet and economy, clean air projects are chronically underfunded. Here are some key funding stats from our annual report on The State of Global Air Quality Funding:
- 1% of international development funding goes to clean air projects
- 3% of international public climate finance goes to clean air projects
- 0.1% of philanthropic funding goes to clean air projects
Government action
Governments hold the key to cleaning up our air through policies and practical measures to gather data and reduce emissions.
- More than half of all countries and territories around the world — 158 out of 252 — don’t have a pollution standard at all. Source: EPIC.
- Only 9% of countries have ambient air quality standards for particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) that meet World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Source: UNEP.
- 53% of countries publicly share their air quality data. A further 8% generate data, but don’t share. Source: OpenAQ.
- Out of 119 countries, less than a third have successfully implemented monitoring networks or have air quality management strategies. Source: UNEP/GHV.
- Nearly every low- and middle-income country mentions air pollution in their Nationally Determined Contributions. Colombia and Mali are ranked highest of all countries for leading efforts to integrate air pollution considerations into their national climate plans. Source: Global Climate and Health Alliance.
