Air Pollution Killed 7 Million People in 2012

2,8953

Annalee Newitz
ProfileFollow

Annalee Newitz
Filed to: environment

medicine

science

pollution

Yesterday 10:20am

Share to Kinja

Share to Facebook

Share to Twitter

Go to permalink

1Expand
Air pollution, particularly indoors, is a leading cause of death around the world. A new report
released by the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that it may be one of the most
critical causes of disease in our time, and its effects have been dramatically underestimated.
Photo of chapati on a cooking fire by Nomadic Samuel
This isn't just about industrial emissions, though certainly fossil fuel burning accounts for some
outdoor air pollution. In fact, one of the main killers is pollution from indoor cooking fires,
especially in regions of India and other parts of Asia where people cook over fires fueled with
biomass. The smoke from these cooking fires can cause heart disease, strokes, and respiratory
problems in children. Overwhelmingly, women are the ones who suffer as a result of this kind of
air pollution, as they tend to be the ones cooking.
Related

Sumatra Has Been On Fire for Over a Month

Peat fires in Sumatra have been burning for weeks, producing thick clouds of haze and smoke.
Deliberately set to clear land for palm oil, the fires Read
Outdoor air pollution causes slightly fewer deaths than indoor, but it remains a leading cause of
death in the air pollution belt that runs from Japan and China, through India, and down to
Southeast Asia. Many countries in this air pollution belt rely on coal or biomass as fuel, both of
which produce a lot of toxic pollutants that lead to heart disease and cancer. But there are other
causes of pollution too, such as slash-and-burn agricultural practices that left large parts of
Sumatra on fire for most of the past month.
According to the WHO, these are the main causes of death from pollution:
Outdoor air pollution-caused deaths breakdown by disease:

40% ischaemic heart disease;

40% stroke;

11% chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD);

6% - lung cancer; and

3% acute lower respiratory infections in children.

Indoor air pollution-caused deaths breakdown by disease:

34% - stroke;

26% - ischaemic heart disease;

22% - COPD;

12% - acute lower respiratory infections in children; and

6% - lung cancer.

The New York Times has a good report on the WHO's findings, noting that part of the problem
comes from rapidly-industrializing areas. Countries like China and India are building instant
cities that are low-density, and thus require more driving and energy use.
The World Bank has suggested that air pollution might be mitigated if countries build higherdensity cities that can scale their energy use and provide public transit. "Guangzhou, with 8.5
million residents, could accommodate 4.2 million more in the same space if it were as densely
developed as Seoul, South Korea," write Andrew Jacobs and Ian Johnson in the Times.

Of course, denser city centers won't help with the indoor air pollution that is killing millions of
people who are cooking with toxic fuels.
24 replies | Discuss
Highlights
All replies
Annalee Newitz's Group Chat

crashfrog
ProfileFollow

crashfrogAnnalee Newitz
Yesterday 10:51am

I just watched "Pandora's Promise" this weekend, and had a quite a laugh when they showed
footage from this 70's-era environmental festival; a folk singer group literally sang about not
wanting to pollute the environment and their home by using nuclear power instead of a
woodburning fire. Fast-forward to 2014, and woodburning cooking fire is among the leading
causes of death worldwide, while nuclear stands to potentially save the environment. Weird.
9Reply

cnlforbin

ProfileFollow

cnlforbinAnnalee Newitz
Yesterday 10:51am

What is this? Can I have a bite?

1Reply

AsuranDreams
ProfileFollow

AsuranDreamscnlforbin

Yesterday 11:35am

That lump of dough is flattened and rounded over a heated pan/skillet/what-have-you which in
this picture is chapati (also called roti), a type of Indian round bread. It's origin most likely stems
from the Middle East and introduced during the Mughal empire rule over not-yet-unified India.
Fun fact: This type of round, flat bread, is common in the Middle East, parts of Asia and even
found in China. There are Caribbean countries (Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados come to
mind) where the Indo-centric bread is known as roti there too. It's even known in Guyana - a
country in South America that has sizeable Indian (from India) presence there. Also, Tortillas are
a famous cousin to the Chapati!