Impact of Air Pollution on Human Health

Abstract

Among the most pressing of today’s environmental issues is the pollution of air. Air is the breath of life, yet there many kinds of air pollution contributing to problems that range from human health issues to climate change. Air pollution can be defined as the presence of toxic chemicals or compounds in the air, at levels that pose a health risk. In an even broader sense, air pollution means the presence of chemicals or compounds in the air which usually not present and which lower the quality of the air or cause detrimental changes to the quality of life. Air pollution is the leading environmental cause of death worldwide according to the state of global air 2017, a new first annual report and interactive website launched today. The report also finds that 92% of the world’s population lives in areas with unhealthy air. All told, long-term exposure to fine particulate matter the most significant element of air pollution contributed to 4.2 million premature deaths and to a loss of 103 million healthy years of life in 2015, making air pollutionthe5thhighestcauseofdeathamong all health risks, including smoking, diet, and high blood pressure. The analysis found that China and India together were responsible for over half of the total global attributable deaths, the study also finds that increasing exposure and a growing and aging population have meant that India now rivals China for among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world, with both countries facing some 1.1 million early deaths from air pollution in 2015. Air pollution is probably one of the most serious environmental problems confronting our civilization today. Most often, it is caused by human activities such as transportation, mining, construction, industrial work, agriculture, smelting, etc. However, natural processes such as volcanic eruptions and wildfires may also pollute the air, but their occurrence is rare and they usually have a local effect, unlike human activities that are ubiquitous causes of air pollution and contribute to the global pollution of the air every single day.