Outdoor air pollution kills 2.18 million Indians annually: Study

Outdoor air pollution from all sources claims 218 million lives per year in India which could potentially be avoided by replacing fossil fuels with clean renewable energy sources according to a new modelling studyThe findings published by The BMJ showed that the number of attributable deaths to all sources of ambient air pollution the leading environmental health risk factor for illness and death were highest across South and East Asia and highest in China with 244 million deaths per yearThe research led by an international team from the US Germany Spain found that air pollution from using fossil fuels in industry power generation and transportation accounts for 51 million 61 per cent extra deaths a year worldwideAbout 83 million deaths worldwide were attributable to fine particles PM25 and ozone O3 in ambient air corresponding to 82 per cent of the maximum number of air pollution deaths that could be averted by controlling all anthropogenic emissionsMost 52 per cent of deaths were related to common conditions such as ischemic heart disease 30 per cent stroke 16 per cent chronic obstructive lung disease 16 per cent and diabetes 6 per centAbout 20 per cent were undefined but are likely to be partly linked to high blood pressure and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons diseaseThese new estimates of fossil fuelrelated deaths are larger than most previously reported values suggesting that phasing out fossil fuels might have a greater impact on attributable mortality than previously thought the researchers saidThe study used data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study NASA satellitebased fine particulate matter and population data and atmospheric chemistry aerosol and relative risk modelling for 2019The results showed phasing out fossil fuels would result in the largest absolute reductions in attributable deaths in South South East and East Asia amounting to about 385 million annually equivalent to 8085 per cent of potentially preventable deaths from all anthropogenic sources of ambient air pollution in these regionsIn highincome countries that are largely dependent on fossil energy about 460000 deaths annually could potentially be prevented by a fossil fuel phase out representing about 90 per cent of the potentially preventable deaths from all anthropogenic sources of ambient air pollutionIn line with the Paris Climate Agreements goal of climate neutrality by 2050 the replacement of fossil fuels by clean renewable energy sources would have tremendous public health and climate cobenefits said the researchersThe forthcoming COP28 climate change negotiations in the United Arab Emirates offer an opportunity to make substantial progress towards phasing out fossil fuels The health benefits should be high on the agenda they addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever