Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause one in eight deaths, mainly in low income countries, climate change is bringing heatwaves and droughts together in hot-dry extremes, and the market has no incentive to save humanity.

Air pollution, a major health problem that’s still with us

While it’s easy (and reasonably correct) for people in Australia to think that air pollution is not the problem it used to be, it continues to be a major contributor to poor health and premature death globally, second only to high blood pressure.

In 2023, 7.9 million deaths worldwide were attributed to air pollution, that’s one in eight of all deaths. Most of the deaths occur in low and middle income countries, with over two million of the deaths in each of India and Pakistan.

Almost 85 per cent of the deaths that are attributable to air pollution result from it causing or exacerbating noncommunicable (or chronic) diseases.

After a spike in air pollution-related deaths in children under one year, the number of deaths stays low until middle age when it starts to increase rapidly and peaks among 70-90 year olds.

The air pollutant that causes most deaths (62 per cent) is very small particles of pollution (Particulate Matter or PM2.5) in outdoor air. PM2.5 originates in vehicles, home fuel use, coal burning power plants, agricultural and industrial activities, waste burning and bush fires, for example. The levels of PM2.5 are highest in Asia and Africa. Alone, it accounts for eight per cent of all global deaths. In 2020, the health impacts associated with PM2.5 were estimated to be equivalent to 4.7-6.5 per cent of global GDP.

Household air pollution, largely due to indoor cooking with solid fuels in low and middle income communities accounted for most of the remainder of the deaths (35 per cent). In PNG and much of Africa over 70 per cent of the population still cook with solid fuels. Household air pollution is responsible for almost five per cent of all global deaths. Air pollution that originates in the household is also a significant contributor to pollution in outdoor air.

I think that there is a tendency for people to think that noncommunicable diseases result from ageing and personal behavioural choices (whether to smoke, drink alcohol, eat healthily, etc.) but air pollution is also a major cause of many noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease (where it caused over two million deaths in 2023), respiratory disease (almost two million deaths and for which it is the top risk factor), stroke, dementia, lung cancer and adult onset diabetes.

Air pollution continues to have devastating health effects worldwide. While global warming is........

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