Overview
A serious environmental health issue that affects people in high-, middle-, and low-income nations alike is outdoor air pollution.
According to estimates, 4.2 million premature deaths globally are attributed to ambient (outdoor) air pollution in both urban and rural settings each year. Fine particulate matter exposure is the primary cause of cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
According to WHO estimates, ischemic heart disease and stroke accounted for about 37% of premature deaths linked to outdoor air pollution in 2019, while chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute lower respiratory infections contributed 18% and 23% of deaths, respectively, and respiratory tract cancer accounted for 11% of deaths.
Policies Reducing Air pollution
Preserving public health requires addressing air pollution, the second-highest risk factor for noncommunicable illnesses.
Since most outdoor air pollution causes are outside of an individual's control, policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels who work in the fields of energy, transportation, waste management, urban planning, and agriculture must take coordinated action.
There are numerous instances of effective air pollution reduction policies:
for Industry: improved management of agricultural and urban waste, including the capture of methane gas released from waste sites as an alternative to incineration (for use as biogas); clean technology that lower emissions from industrial smokestacks;
for energy: guaranteeing the availability of reasonably priced, eco-friendly home energy options for heating, cooking, and lighting;
for transport: switching to cleaner energy production methods; giving priority to rail interurban freight and passenger movement, as well as networks for walking and bicycling in cities; switching to low-emission vehicles and fuels, such as those with lower sulfur content, and cleaner heavy-duty diesel vehicles;
for power generation: a greater use of fuels with low emissions and combustion-free renewable energy sources (such as hydropower, wind, or solar power); cogeneration of electricity and heat; and distributed energy generation (such as rooftop solar power and mini-grids);
for urban planning: enhancing building energy efficiency and creating smaller, greener, more energy-efficient cities.
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