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Air pollution is reducing life expectancy daily, researchers found that in the US and UK, the life expectancy of someone born today would only be reduced by an average of four months, but it was far worse in other countries. In nations plagued by air pollution, such as India and Egypt, this spiked to 1.5 years and almost two years, respectively.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, says past research has focused on how many people are dying from air pollution. For the study, researchers looked at outdoor air pollution from PM2.5, tiny particles that come from various sources including power plants, exhaust systems, airplanes, forest fires and dust storms. Because of how small they are, PM2.5 particles stay in the air longer than heavy particles, increasing the risk of inhaling them.
Additionally, due to their size, they can get deep into the lungs and potentially enter the circulatory system. Studies have shown that exposure to fine particles can increase our risk of lung disease and heart disease as well as worsen chronic conditions including asthma and bronchitis.
Currently, the WHO estimates that, worldwide, seven million people die every year from exposure to such pollution with most deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. The researchers used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study – which measures mortality due to diseases, injuries and risk factors – to look at PM2.5 air pollution exposure and its consequences in 185 countries.
They looked at the life expectancy of each country as well as the global impact. Findings showed that for the US and the UK, it shaved off an average of four months – but other countries saw it worse. It cut the average Russian’s life expectancy by nine months, and reduced it by one-and-a-half years in India and almost two years in Egypt.
In Egypt, the smog that appears over Cairo and surrounding cities is known as the ‘black cloud’, accounting for about 42 percent of the country’s air pollution, according to the Egyptian Environment Ministry. It comes from a number of factors including exhaust from cars, farmers piling and burning rice straw, and the absence of trees in the nation’s capital.