Effect

As air pollution is getting worse day by day, its effect on the human body is getting worse together. So, we are trying to figure out how bad is it for human health and life.

Number of Casualties

Around four million people died in 2019 from exposure to fine particulate outdoor air pollution, with the highest death rates occurring in East Asia and Central Europe.

Cause of Disease

Air pollution is a major global health crisis and causes one in nine deaths worldwide. Exposure to PM2.5 reduced average global life expectancy by approximately one year in 2019.

The deadliest illnesses linked to PM2.5 air pollution are stroke, heart disease, lung disease, lower respiratory diseases (such as pneumonia), and cancer. High levels of fine particles also contribute to other illnesses, like diabetes, can hinder cognitive development in children and also cause mental health problems.

Cut people’s lives

Air pollution is cutting short the lives of billions of people by up to six years, according to a new report, making it a far greater killer than smoking, car crashes or HIV/Aids. India is worst affected, with the average citizen dying six years early. China has slashed air pollution in the last seven years, but dirty air is still cutting 2.6 years from its people’s lifespan.

Ambient PM2·5 was the fifth-ranking mortality risk factor in 2015. Exposure to PM2·5 caused 4·2 million (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 3·7 million to 4·8 million) deaths and 103·1 million (90·8 million 115·1 million) disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2015, representing 7·6% of total global deaths and 4·2% of global DALYs, 59% of these in east and south Asia. Deaths attributable to ambient PM2·5 increased from 3·5 million (95% UI 3·0 million to 4·0 million) in 1990 to 4·2 million (3·7 million to 4·8 million) in 2015. Exposure to ozone caused an additional 254 000 (95% UI 97 000–422 000) deaths and a loss of 4·1 million (1·6 million to 6·8 million) DALYs from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2015.

Ambient air pollution contributed substantially to the global burden of disease in 2015, which increased over the past 25 years, due to population aging, changes in non-communicable disease rates, and increasing air pollution in low-income and middle-income countries.

Asthma

One of the common diseases caused by air pollution is asthma. It is a condition in which individuals find it difficult to breathe due to extra mucus produced by inflamed, narrowed, and swelled airways. Other than difficulty breathing, some of the prominent symptoms of asthma include cough, wheezing, chest pain, fast heart rate, throat irritation, and shortness of breath at night. Particulate matter, ground-level ozone, oxides of nitrogen, and sulfur cause asthma.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Of several diseases caused by pollution, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with over 10 million cases every year, is a quite common and prominent disease in India. COPD is characterized by inflammatory lungs that obstruct the airflow and make it extremely difficult for the person to breathe. Other than difficulty breathing, wheezing, chronic cough, chest tightness, lack of energy, weight loss, and frequent respiratory infections are some of the symptoms of COPD. What makes COPD even worse is the fact that the damage caused to the lungs is irreversible.

Weakening of Lung Function

This is certainly not one of the many diseases caused by air pollution, but definitely, a prominent sign that may invite several potential diseases like pneumonia and lung cancer. The constant breathing in the polluted air results in the gradual weakening of lung function. This can be identified in the forms of easy exposure to allergies, panting while engaged in routine activities, and compromised immunity to common infections like colds, coughs, and flu.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is one of the many diseases caused due to air pollution. In this condition, the air sacs in one or both lungs get inflamed and may fill with fluid or pus. Despite being a common disease of the respiratory tract, it can turn out to be dangerous for the person, if left untreated.

Leukaemia

Air pollution causes several diseases, of which leukemia is extremely fatal. A type of blood cancer, leukemia is caused due to heavy exposure to the benzene vapors present in the polluted air. In this disease, the white blood cells (WBCs) start increasing uncontrollably and crowd out the red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets that are crucial for the body to stay healthy.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Particulate matter comprises several solid and liquid particles and other poisonous substances that are suspended in the air. These are extremely hazardous for those who inhale them. People exposed to a polluted environment are at a higher risk of developing various cardiovascular diseases. Talking about the risk of contracting infection and diseases, it depends on the exposure to the pollutants and of course the very intensity of it. Some of the common cardiovascular complications and diseases due to pollution include the risk of heart attack due to artery blockages, stroke, arrhythmias, and withering of heart tissue due to oxygen deprivation among others. Although these are short-term consequences of exposure to air pollutants, the risk magnifies manifold in case of long-term exposure which may even cause heart failure.

Lung Cancer

Air pollution causes millions of deaths worldwide each year, including more than 250,000 from a type of lung cancer called adenocarcinoma. Air pollution could cause lung cancer not by mutating DNA, but by creating an inflamed environment that encourages a proliferation of cells with existing cancer-driving mutations, according to a sweeping study of human health data and experiments in laboratory mice.

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