Air Pollution

A businessman wearing a gasmask

In every part of the world air quality is getting worse. Deforestation, coal plants, increased industry and the ever-expanding transportation sector, are all directly contributing to air pollution. The David Suzuki Foundation explains that ‘…burning fossil fuels is the main cause of both air pollution and climate change, and health experts have concluded that climate change will actually make air pollution an even greater health threat…’.

Whether it is Mexico City, Los Angles, Cairo, Beijing or Paris, many places are becoming almost inhabitable due to high levels of nitrogen dioxide in the environment. WorldWatch Institute reports that more than a billion people — one-fifth of all humanity — live in communities that do not meet World Health Organization air quality standards. Communities and governments are now forced to find solutions to the problem of worsening air pollution such as fortifying the urban forest, limiting car use, creating car free zones, improving public transit and promoting engine idling reduction strategies.

Who Is Vulnerable?

Professor David Pimentel, from Cornell University, found that air pollution from smoke and various chemicals kills 3 million people a year. The World Health Organization (WHO) found that mortality in cities with high levels of pollution exceeds that observed in relatively cleaner cities by 15–20%. Even in the EU, average life expectancy is 8.6 months lower due to exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5micrometer in diameter (PM_2.5) produced by human activities.

Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because they breathe faster than adults and inhale more air per kilogram of body weight. Air pollution also causes unnecessary difficulty for elderly people and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Health Concerns

Numerous studies support the dangers of long term exposure to both particulate matter produced from the burning of fossil fuels and vehicle emissions which emit various air pollutants including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO) and sulphur oxides (SOx).

The Ontario College of Physicians, in their report The Health Effects of Urban Sprawl Air Pollution, explain that particulate matter and vehicle emissions have many negative effects on physical health including cardiovascular effects; a link between fine particulate pollution and lung cancer. Exposure to vehicle-exhaust has also been linked to ovarian cancer; while exposure to carbon monoxide and ozone during the second month of pregnancy has been linked to cardiac and orificial defects.

Exposure to particulate matter has also been associated with mild symptoms such as coughing and wheezing, with exacerbation of pre-existing lung diseases like bronchitis and COPD, to serious health effects including cancer, heart attacks and strokes explains The Canadian Lung Association. This is only a very small sampling of the research supporting the link between negative health effects and long-term exposure to particulate matter and vehicle emissions.

The Future

Although there is no exact data on which are the most polluted cities in the world, WHO reports that air pollution is very high in a number of Asian cities (Karachi, New Delhi, Katmandu, Beijing), in Latin American cities (Lima, Arequipa), and in Africa (Cairo). However, wherever there are vehicles and industry, there are likely to be problems with air quality.

The future looks grim. Air quality and corresponding health problems are expected to become more common and pronounced as climate change progresses. Global warming will result in more frequent and severe heat waves, increasing smog levels and making air pollution worse. We can immediately reduce greenhouse gases and air pollution by eliminating all forms of unnecessary vehicle idling and reducing car use. Reducing vehicle idling directly results in less smog and better air quality.