By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Seven million people die each year worldwide due to air pollution, while 99% of the world’s population now breathes polluted air, says a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Exploring the consequences of air pollution worldwide, the report documented that 47% of every 100 deaths caused by pollution are due to respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 27% are cardiac, 18% are related to strokes, and 8% are caused by lung cancer triggered by pollution.
According to the WHO’s data, low- and middle-income countries are the ones suffering the most from the greatest levels of exposure.
Around 2.4 billion people are exposed to hazardous levels of home air pollution when they cook with polluting open fires or basic stoves powered by kerosene, biomass (wood, animal dung, and crop waste), and coal, the report found.
It also showed that exposure to home air pollution alone causes noncommunicable illnesses such as stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer.
Another notable conclusion highlighted in the report is that women and children incur the largest health burden from the use of polluting fuels and technology in the home, since they are usually in charge of domestic duties like cooking and gathering firewood.
In 2020, household air pollution was estimated to be responsible for 3.2 million deaths per year, including over 237 000 deaths of children under the age of five, recalled the WHO’s study.
According to the WHO’s report, only 14% of individuals in cities used harmful fuels and technology that year, compared to 52% of the worldwide rural population.
To at least decrease the number of deaths from air pollution in the world, the WHO suggested expanding the use of clean fuels and technologies in order to reduce household air pollution and protect health.