Recently fifth edition of the State of Global Air (SoGA) report presents a comprehensive analysis of data for air quality and health impacts for countries around the world in 2021

Key Findings of Report

• Air pollution: Air pollution killed 8.1 million globally, 2.1mn in India in 2021, becoming the second leading risk factor for death, including for children under five years. 
  • Of the total deaths, noncommunicable diseases including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) account for nearly 90% of the disease burden from air pollution.
  • Beyond these deaths, many more millions of people are living with debilitating chronic diseases, putting tremendous strains on health care systems, economies, and societies.
• Children under five years old
  • In 2021, more than 700,000 deaths in children under 5 years were linked to air pollution; this represents 15% of all global deaths in children under five.
  • Exposure to air pollution in young children is linked to pneumonia, responsible for 1 in 5 child deaths globally, and asthma, the most common chronic respiratory disease in older children. 
• AirPollution and Climate Change
  • PM 2.5 : More than 90 percent of these global air pollution deaths – 7.8 million people – are attributed to PM2.5 air pollution, including from ambient PM2.5 and household air pollution. 
    • These tiny particles, measuring less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, are so small they remain in the lungs and can enter the bloodstream, affecting many organ systems and increasing the risks for noncommunicable diseases in adults like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 
  • NO2 : For the first time, this year’s report includes exposure levels and related health effects of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), including the impact of NO2 exposures on the development of childhood asthma. 
    • Traffic exhaust is a major source of NO2, which means densely populated urban areas, particularly in high-income countries, often see the highest levels of NO2 exposures and health impacts.
  • Ozone: In 2021, long-term exposure to ozone contributed to an estimated 500,000 (approx) deaths globally, including 14,000 ozone-related COPD deaths in the United States, higher than other high-income countries

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Progress Is Being Made

• Death rate linked to children under five has dropped by 53 per cent, due largely to efforts aimed at expanding access to clean energy for cooking, as well as improvements in access to healthcare, nutrition, and better awareness about the harms associated with exposure to household air pollution.
• Air quality actions in regions like Africa, Latin America, and Asia, such as installing air pollution monitoring networks, implementing stricter air quality policies, or offsetting traffic-related air pollution by moving to hybrid or electric vehicles, are all having measurable impacts on pollution and improving public health.