While the world’s attention is often captured by headlines of wars, conflicts, and geopolitical tensions, a silent but deadlier adversary lurks in the shadows: air pollution. Recent research and studies have underscored the alarming reality that air pollution is deadlier than war, claiming the lives of a staggering ten million people worldwide, with detrimental effects on both plants and animals.
The most lethal form of pollution is caused by tiny airborne particles known as PM2.5, primarily emitted from vehicles powered by burning fossil fuels (cars, trucks, aircraft, ships) and coal or oil-burning power plants and factories. However, any activity involving the combustion of wood or fossil fuels has the potential to release these particulate particles, including sources found in homes like candles, fireplaces, stoves, and other cooking appliances. Other significant contributors to air pollution include volcanic eruptions and wildfires. These airborne particles infiltrate the human body, reaching the lungs, bloodstream, and even the brain.
Once inside the human body, these particles wreak havoc on vital organs such as the heart, lungs, and brain, leading to a host of health problems, including breathing difficulties, heart diseases, cancer, and dementia. Air pollution is also responsible for reducing global life expectancy by an average of 1.8 years per person, surpassing the impact of smoking, which cuts life expectancy by 1.6 years for active smokers.
In India, household stoves are powered by a mixture of wood, dried leaves, hay, and animal dung, generating five times more smoke and pollution than coal. A staggering 24% of urban pollution in the country is attributed to the daily use of these stoves by over 100 million households. Tainted fuel used in several auto-rickshaws and taxis in South Asia due to India’s high taxation regime exacerbates the problem, offering low-wage workers savings of up to 30%.
According to the World Air Quality Index Report for 2023, Chad tops the list of the world’s most air-polluted countries, with a reading of 89.7 μg/m³. Chad is actively working to promote non-grid/grid electrification, cleaner cooking fuels, and clean cook stoves, along with other measures to reduce indoor biomass burning and emissions.
Climate activists worldwide are taking extensive measures to combat air pollution, recognizing its pivotal role in climate change and its status as a public health crisis. These efforts include raising awareness and advocating for policy changes to address this pressing issue.