NEW DELHI: A review titled ‘Pollution and Health: A Progress Update’ was published by the Lancet Planetary Health on May 17. The Report found pollution to be responsible for 9 million deaths in 2015, making it the world’s largest environmental risk factor for disease and premature death. The review updated this estimate using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, and established that pollution remains responsible for approximately 9 million deaths per year – one in every six deaths worldwide.
The review stated that there have been reductions in the number of deaths attributed to the types of pollution associated with extreme poverty. However, these reductions in deaths from household air pollution and water pollution are offset by increased deaths attributed to ambient air pollution and toxic chemical pollution. According to the review, deaths from such modern pollution risk factors, which are the consequence of industrialisation and urbanisation have risen by 7 per cent since 2015, and by over 66 per cent since 2000. It said that little real progress against pollution can be identified overall, despite the ongoing efforts by UN agencies, committed groups, committed individuals, and national governments. The condition is direr in the low and middle income countries, where pollution is severe and more than 90 per cent of the pollution related deaths occur there.
Air pollution, both household and ambient air pollution remains responsible for the greatest number of deaths, quoted the review. It caused around 6.7 million deaths in 2019. Water pollution caused 1.4 million premature deaths and lead pollution was responsible for 900,000 premature deaths in 2019. Toxic occupational hazards, excluding workplace fatalities due to safety hazards were found responsible for 870,000 deaths. The paper noted that the total effects of pollution on health would be larger if more comprehensive health data could be generated and if all pathways for chemicals in the environment were identified and analysed.
According to GBD 2019 data referred in the paper, effect of pollution on disease and disability varies by sex. Men, on the one hand are more likely to die from exposure to ambient air pollution, lead pollution, and occupational pollutants and women and children on the other hand, are more likely to die from the exposure to water pollution.
The paper said that pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss are closely linked and that successful control of these conjoined threats will require a globally supported, formal science–policy interface to inform intervention, influence research, and guide funding. Pollution has been typically viewed as a local issue. The review argued that however, it is increasingly visible now that pollution is a planetary threat, and that its drivers, its dispersion, and its effects on health transcend local boundaries and demand a global response. It suggested a massive rapid transition to wind and solar energy to reduce ambient air pollution and to slow the progress of climate change.
The review asked international organisations to establish a Science Policy Interface (SPI) for pollution, which could be similar to those made for climate change and biodiversity. It recommended that private and government donors allocate funding for pollution management to support Health and Pollution Action Plan (HPAP) prioritisation process, monitoring, and programme implementation.