Humza Khizer

Explore the detrimental effects of air pollution and its impact on human health. Learn about the causes, consequences, and solutions on Meri Sehat.

Why is Air Pollution a Problem?

Why Is Air Pollution A Problem?

Introduction

Air pollution is a mixture of dangerous elements, both human-made and natural. Humans are of course responsible for vehicle emissions, fuel oils and natural gas that are used to warm up homes, byproducts in the manufacturing and power industry, and the fumes from chemical industry.

Moreover, non-synthetic reasons also contribute to polluting the atmosphere. These include smoke from fires in forests, ash and gasses due to volcanic eruptions, and gasses like methane that are released when organic matter decomposes. 
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&nbsp;It is necessary to understand that what is in the smoke or car emissions that makes the air we breathe, so unbreathable. The factors which serve as a major constituent in air pollution include<a href="#accordion">[1]</a>: 
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1. Traffic-Related Air Pollution (TRAP) 
TRAP is essentially a combination of gasses and different particles, which includes ground-level ozone, different variations of carbon, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and fine particulate matter. 
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2.&nbsp;Ozone 
Ozone is an atmospheric gas. It is usually called smog when it is at the ground level. Ozone is created by sunlight acting on pollutants excreted by cars, power plants, industrial level boilers, refineries, and other chemical sources. 
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3.&nbsp;Noxious Gasses 
Noxious gasses include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur oxides (SOx). These are basically components of motor vehicle emissions and byproducts of industrial processes. 
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4.&nbsp;Particulate Matter (PM) 
PM is made up of chemicals such as sulfates, nitrates, carbon, or mineral dusts. Fuel combustion, cigarette smoke, and burning of organic matter, such as wildfires, all have PM. It is interesting to note that a subset of PM, fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) is 30 times thinner than a human hair! Hence, it can reach into lungs and lead to serious health problems. Moreover, PM 2.5 is responsible for most health effects due to the air pollution in the U.S. 
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5.&nbsp;Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) 
&nbsp;VOC are known to vaporize at room temperature; hence, they&rsquo;re called volatile. The term &lsquo;organic&rsquo; implies that it contains carbon. VOCs are released by paints, cleaning supplies, pesticides, some furnishings, and materials like glue, but mostly it&rsquo;s gasoline and natural gas (methane). 
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6.&nbsp;Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) 
Another organic compound, PAHs also contain carbon and hydrogen. Other than combustion, there are many industrial processes, for example iron, steel, and rubber product manufacturing as well as power generation that produce PAHs as a byproduct. PAHs can also be found in particulate matter. 
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Data collected for the most polluted cities in the world in 2022 showed that 9 of these cities were in India, 4 in China, and 2 in Pakistan. According to the same survey, the most polluted city in the world is Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with an average 124.11 micrograms of PM 2.5; this is alarming because it had ranked 11th last year only<a href="#accordion">[5]</a>. 
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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is the largest environmental health hazard globally. It was further investigated that the majority of those deaths were linked to cardiovascular diseases, such as <a href="https://merisehat.pk/disease/stroke">stroke </a>and <a href="https://merisehat.pk/disease/ischemic-heart-disease-63">ischemic heart disease</a>. Out of this number, 3.3 million deaths were directly linked to indoor air pollution.

Moreover, in 2019, 99% of the total world&rsquo;s population was shockingly living in areas where the air quality was not up to the mark according to the WHO guidelines. The atmospheric pollution, along with the household air pollution is actually responsible for nearly 7 million premature deaths every year. Ambient or outdoor air pollution is reported to be a reason behind 4.2 million premature deaths around the globe in 2019<a href="#accordion">[3]</a>. 
&nbsp;

In order to protect the global public health, addressing air pollution is crucial as it is the second highest risk factor for non-communicable diseases, i.e., diseases that are not spread through infection or through other people. It is not an easy task as most of the sources of outdoor air pollution are out of the hands of a single person. This demands concentrated laws by local, national, and regional level policy-makers working in energy, transport, waste management, urban planning, and agriculture sectors, and there have been incidents where successful policy implementation has evidently reduced air pollution<a href="#accordion">[3]</a>: 
&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Industry: Policies include usage of cleaner technologies that are aimed to decrease the industrial level smoke emissions and increase efficient management of agricultural waste material, like entrapping methane gas released from sites where waste material is disposed. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Energy: Policies could be put in place wherein the energy industry gets access to economical and relatively cleaner energy alternatives. These can then be supplied to&nbsp; residents&nbsp; for cooking, heating, and lighting. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Transport: To combat air pollution policies can be formulated that allow for the selection of cleaner alternatives of power generation. These policies could also prioritize efficient transit by creating walking and cycling transport networks in cities along with promoting passenger and freight railway travel. Another step is to choose a cleaner diesel vehicle and fuels that are low in sulfur content. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Urban Planning: Planning cities and buildings which are &ldquo;greener&rdquo; in concept goes a long way. This can be done by planting trees on roadsides and keeping the industrial zone away from residential areas. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Power Generation: Power generation can be improved by using low-emissions fuels and combustion-free power sources, like solar, wind, or hydropower, simultaneous generation of heat and power both, and distributed energy generation systems such as mini-grids and rooftop solar power generation could also be useful. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Municipal And Agricultural Waste Management: WHO has made exclusive strategies for waste reduction, waste separation, and recycling. Along with implementing those strategies, better methods of biological waste management that include anaerobic waste digestion to generate biogas could be introduced. 
	&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Healthcare Activities: Countries that encourage health services which are based on a low-carbon development path essentially promote a cost-efficient service as well as a decreased environmental health risk for patients along with doctors. This plan, if adopted by many countries, could have a significant impact on reducing pollution. 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Understanding the Adverse Effects of Air Pollution

According to research, air pollution can lead to serious health diseases, aggravated birth outcomes, and even premature death. Following are the diseases that are associated with long-term exposure to air pollution<a href="#accordion">[4]</a>: 
&nbsp;

<ol>
	<li>
	<h5><a href="https://merisehat.pk/disease/copd">Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)</a></h5>
	</li>
</ol>

Studies show that being exposed to particulate pollutants may lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary (lung) disease (COPD). According to the WHO reports, air pollution causes 43% of the total COPD cases and fatalities around the globe. COPD is basically a group of diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis that cause breathing issues. These diseases basically obstruct the airway and make it extremely difficult for the individual to breathe. While there is no treatment available for COPD, efficient management may alleviate the symptoms and improve the quality of life. 
&nbsp;

<ol start="2">
	<li>
	<h5><a href="https://merisehat.pk/disease/lung-cancer-67">Lung Cancer</a></h5>
	</li>
</ol>

The WHO reports that air pollution is the actual reason behind 29% of all the lung cancer cases and fatalities. Particle pollutants are likely to factor in this figure majorly as their relatively small size means they can reach the lower respiratory tract. 
&nbsp;

<ol start="3">
	<li>
	<h5>Cardiovascular Disease</h5>
	</li>
</ol>

Studies show that if you choose to live in an area which has a relatively higher level of air pollution, it may increase your risk of death from stroke. According to a 2018 review, the Global Burden of Disease Study estimated air pollution to be the actual reason for 19% of cardiovascular deaths in the year 2015. Moreover, it was the cause of almost 21% of deaths due to stroke and 24% of deaths due to coronary heart disease. 
&nbsp;

<ol start="4">
	<li>
	<h5>Preterm Delivery</h5>
	</li>
</ol>

According to research, pregnant women who&rsquo;re exposed to polluted air are more likely to go through a preterm delivery. 
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Conclusion

The fact that we cannot see it doesn&rsquo;t mean we pollute it however we like. A cleaner air is a safer future. 
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Key Takeaways

<ul>
	<li>Air pollution is a mixture of dangerous elements, both human-made and natural.</li>
	<li>Humans are responsible for vehicle emissions, and fuel oils, and natural gas that are used to warm up homes.</li>
	<li>TRAP is essentially a combination of gasses and different particles, which includes ground-level ozone and different variations of carbon.</li>
	<li>Ozone is an atmospheric gas, which is usually called smog when it is at the ground level.</li>
	<li>Noxious gasses include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur oxides (SOx).</li>
	<li>PM is made up of chemicals such as sulfates, nitrates, carbon, or mineral dusts.</li>
	<li>A subset of PM, with a fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) is 30 times thinner than a human hair. It is responsible for most health effects due to the air pollution in the U.S.</li>
	<li>VOCs are known to vaporize at room temperature, which is why they&rsquo;re labeled volatile. The term &lsquo;organic&rsquo; comes from the fact that it contains carbon.</li>
	<li>PAHs are organic compounds that contain carbon and hydrogen.</li>
	<li>Data collected for the most polluted cities in the world in 2022 showed that 9 of these cities were in India, 4 in China, and 2 in Pakistan. The most polluted city recorded in the world is Dammam in Saudi Arabia.</li>
	<li>According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is the largest environmental health hazard globally as it is responsible for nearly 7 million premature deaths every year.</li>
	<li>In 2019, 99% of the total world&rsquo;s population was shockingly living in areas where the air quality was not up to the mark as per the WHO guidelines.</li>
	<li>Ambient or outdoor air pollution is reported to be a reason behind 4.2 million premature deaths around the globe in 2019.</li>
	<li>Planning cities and buildings which are &ldquo;greener&rdquo; in concept can go a long way.</li>
	<li>WHO has made exclusive strategies for waste reduction, waste separation, and recycling which when adopted could significantly reduce pollution. 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>