In a study published in the journal Environmental Research of Tuesday, researchers at Harvard University, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, the University of Leicester and University College London, found that exposure to fossil fuel particle emissions accounted for 18% of the total global deaths – almost one in five – in 2018.
The number is much higher than previously thought. Recently, in 2019, scientists were estimating that 4.2 million people die each year due to the pollution of particulate matter in the outside air, a figure that includes people who die because of dust and smoke pollution from forest fires and fires. agricultural
The new study shows that in 2018, about 8.7 million deaths were related to fossil fuel emissions alone.
Eloise Marais, associate professor of physical geography at UCL and co-author of the study, said the research adds “growing evidence” that air pollution from fossil fuels is harmful to global health.
“We cannot, in good conscience, continue to depend on fossil fuels, when we know that there are such serious health effects and viable and cleaner alternatives,” she said in a statement.
Scientists used a global 3D model of atmospheric chemistry developed at Harvard to get a better picture of pollution at a more local level.
Traditionally, satellite and surface observations have been used to estimate the average global annual concentrations of PM2.5 particles in the air. Using the 3D model, the scientists were able to divide the globe into a grid with boxes as small as 50 kilometers by 60 kilometers (31 miles by 37 miles) and observe the levels of pollution in each box individually.
This allowed them to assess the impact of pollution in the places where people live and to distinguish between different sources of pollution.
They found that China, India, eastern parts of the USA, Europe and Southeast Asia were the most affected. According to the data, up to 30.7% of deaths in East Asia, 16.8% in Europe and 13.1% in the USA can be attributed to fossil fuel pollution.
To model pollution, the researchers used real emissions and weather data, mainly from 2012. The year was chosen to eliminate the influence of the El Niño phenomenon, which can worsen or improve pollution depending on the region. They then updated the data to reflect a 44% drop in fossil fuel pollution in China between 2012 and 2018.
The researchers estimate that China’s move to cut its fossil fuel emissions saved 2.4 million lives worldwide, including 1.5 million in China.