Fig 1: Exposure to particulate matter with a diameter of 10um or less (PM10) in urban areas, (1100 urban areas were surveyed)

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1 Air pollution Air Pollution Killed 7 Million in 2012, According to WHO Fig 1: Fig 1: Exposure to particulate matter with a diameter of 10um or less (PM10) in urban areas, (1100 urban areas were surveyed) Air pollution claimed 7 million lives in 2012, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report. The majority of deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. Some 12.5% of premature deaths in 2012 were due, in part, to air pollution. This is double that reported in previous years due to more accurate measures of pollution in both outdoor and indoor environments and in a wider range of rural areas.

2 Analysis of life expectancy in more and less polluted regions of China suggests that air quality has a more important impact on health than previously believed. For example, Some northern areas had particulate pollution that was 55 % (or 184 micrograms per cubic meter) higher than in southern regions, and residents had a life expectancy 5.5 years shorter than their southern neighbours. The difference was almost entirely attributable to deaths from cardiorespiratory illnesses Long-term exposure to each additional 100 micrograms per cubic meter of particulate pollution correlated with a 3-year reduction in life expectancy at birth an estimate more than five times larger than previously considered to be the case. In March 2014 WHO confirmed that the risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes. Few risks have a greater impact on global health today than air pollution. The most dangerous form of outdoor air pollution is the particulate matter from coal-burning power plants and diesel vehicles. Indoor air pollution mainly comes from the use of coal, wood or biomass (mostly dung) as cooking fuel. According to one Environmental Health Officer, cooking over an open fire is equivalent to burning 400 cigarettes an hour. Indoor air pollutants played a role in 4.3 million of the deaths, while background outdoor pollution was implicated in 3.7 million deaths. Some deaths resulted from exposure to both. The highest per capita death rates due to both types of pollution occurred in Western Pacific nations, such as China and Japan along with Pacific Islands, suffered highest per capita death rates from both types of pollution. Southeast Asia and Africa were hard hit by indoor air pollution. Outdoor air pollution was worst in the cities of Arab nations and northern India. But the pattern of deaths also revealed economic differences within countries. Per capita death rates were significantly higher among low- and middle-income nations in Europe and the Western Pacific region. In the Americas, by contrast, per capita deaths were more than twice as high in richer nations. The core problem, according to WHO, is the failure to implement cleaner alternatives for transportation, energy and industry. The dirtiest cities were not the economic powerhouses of India and China, which had introduced efforts to improve air quality. Excessive air pollution is often a by-product of unsustainable policies in sectors such as waste management, energy and transport. According to the UN and WHO, many developing countries have yet to implement basic clean up strategies, such as replacing older diesel vehicles with newer, cleaner models and designing roads and signage to ease congestion.

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4 Smog in the UK, 2014 In April 2014, the UK experienced an episode of ground level smog. In addition to this, dust from the Sahara was blown north to Britain. The smog occurred during a high pressure (anticyclone) weather system in which there were relatively calm conditions with typically low wind speeds. Professor Frank Kelly (chair of the Department of Health's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution and a member of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Air Quality Expert Group) stated that children should not be allowed to use playground in areas with severe pollution. This is because children tend to run around outside and therefore breathe deeper. Thus on days with poor air quality they will be inspiring a lot more pollution if outdoors than when they are breathing normally (hopefully) inside. One of the main issues related to pollution exposure on a chronic basis is that lung growth is restricted. If there is no subsequent catch-up lung growth then this respiratory deficit is carried forward through life. Children are particularly at risk as their lungs are developing. The British Lung Foundation urged people in affected areas who cycle, walk or run to work to avoid doing so at rush hour and to use backstreets if possible, and for people with lung conditions such as asthma to avoid doing strenuous exercise outdoors. In Oxfordshire, for example, it was claimed that one in twenty deaths is linked to air pollution. Public Health England linked long-term exposure to small particles in the air to 276 deaths in Air pollution remains above the EU target. Any deaths related to air pollution are a concern but not a cause for alarm according to one spokesman. Activities 1. Describe the pattern of PM10 pollution as shown in Figure Compare and contrast the number of deaths due to outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution. 3. Under what climatic conditions does poor air quality develop? 4. Outline the impacts of air quality in China on life expectancy. Resources Air pollution in China

5 Suggested answers 1. The highest rates of PM 10 pollution (over 150 ug/m3) are found in parts of the Middle east and western Asia. High rates (over 50 ug/m3) extend from Western Asia through to the Middle east. There are also high rates recorded in South and Central America and Africa. The lowest rates are recorded in North America, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe. 2. The main causes of death in outdoor air pollution are ischaemic heart disease and strokes (both 40%) whereas for indoor air pollution it is strokes (34%). Both ischaemic heart disease and strokes are the two main causes of death in indoor and outdoor air pollution. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third highest for both indoor and outdoor causes, but only accounts for 11% of deaths in outdoor air pollution, but 22% of deaths in indoor air pollution. Lung cancer accounts for 6% of deaths in both categories. Acute lower respiratory infections in children accounts for 3% of deaths in outdoor air pollution but 12% of deaths in indoor air pollution. 3. Air pollution occurs during calm, anticyclonic (high pressure) conditions. The calm/low wind speeds allow pollutants to remain in the local atmosphere. In contrast, during low pressure systems, the higher wind speeds help disperse the pollutants. 4. In northern China, the increased air pollution in the north has reduced life expectancy by 5 years compared with the south of the country. For every increase of particulate material of 100 micrograms per cubic meter, life expectancy at birth is reduced by 3-years.