27 Facts About Air pollution

Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials.

Air pollution can be caused by both human activities and natural phenomena.

Air pollution is a significant risk factor for a number of pollution-related diseases, including respiratory infections, heart disease, COPD, stroke and lung cancer.

Productivity losses and degraded quality of life caused by air pollution are estimated to cost the world economy $5 trillion per year but, along with health and mortality impacts, are an externality to the contemporary economic system and most human activity, albeit sometimes being moderately regulated and monitored.

Risk of air pollution is determined by the pollutant's hazard and the amount of exposure to that pollutant.

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Intentional air pollution is introduced with the use of air fresheners, incense, and other scented items.

Biological sources of air pollution are found indoors, as gases and airborne particulates.

In 2020, pollution was a contributing factor to one in eight deaths in Europe, and was a significant risk factor for pollution-related diseases including heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.

The most common sources of air pollution include particulates, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide.

Across the European Union, air pollution is estimated to reduce life expectancy by almost nine months.

Largest cause is air pollution generated by fossil fuel combustion – mostly the production and use of cars, electricity production, and heating.

The mechanisms linking air pollution to increased cardiovascular mortality are uncertain, but probably include pulmonary and systemic inflammation.

Air pollution is emerging as a risk factor for stroke, particularly in developing countries where pollutant levels are highest.

Air pollution was found to be associated with increased incidence and mortality from coronary stroke in a cohort study in 2011.

Additionally, air pollution has been associated with increased hospitalization and mortality from asthma and COPD.

The risk of lung disease from air pollution is greatest for the following groups of people: infants and young children, whose normal breathing is faster than that of older children and adults; the elderly; those who work outside or spend a lot of time outside; and those who have heart or lung disease.

The study controlled for age and smoking habits, so concluded that air pollution was the most likely cause of the observed differences.

Review of evidence regarding whether ambient air pollution exposure is a risk factor for cancer in 2007 found solid data to conclude that long-term exposure to PM2.

Traffic Air pollution often has high levels of PM10 alongside carbon monoxide and nitrous oxides.

However, there have been studies which suggest that high levels of ozone Air pollution do exert an effect on in vitro fertilisation outcomes.

Therefore, ozone Air pollution is considered to have a negative impact on the success of assisted reproductive technologies when occurring at high levels.

Ambient levels of air pollution have been associated with preterm birth and low birth weight.

The countries with the highest air pollution associated preterm births were in South and East Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and West sub-Saharan Africa.

Since a large share of air pollution is caused by combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, the reduction of these fuels can reduce air pollution drastically.

Air pollution quality improvement is a near-term benefit among the many societal benefits from climate change mitigation.

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Air pollution hotspots are areas where air pollution emissions expose individuals to increased negative health effects.

Air pollution is usually concentrated in densely populated metropolitan areas, especially in developing countries where cities are experiencing rapid growth and environmental regulations are relatively lax or nonexistent.