Air Pollution Crisis Exposed: Report Warns of Global Health Emergency Linked to Millions of Deaths
- Air pollution was reported as the world’s largest environmental health risk, linked to millions of premature deaths each year
- Experts highlighted that cities such as New Delhi and London showed both the dangers of unchecked pollution and the benefits of strong clean air policies
- The Guardian UK report stressed that while individual choices mattered, government action remained the most decisive factor in protecting public health
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A new report published by Guardian UK on January 27 brought fresh attention to the dangers of air pollution. Devi Sridhar, an American researcher, wrote that breathwork had become a popular practice in yoga studios, corporate retreats and self-help reels.
She explained that people were often told to “just breathe”, be mindful and lower stress levels. In the yogic tradition, clean air was seen as purifying and detoxing. However, she questioned what happened when the air itself was not cleansing but harmful.
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WHO warning on air pollution
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 99% of the global population was exposed to air pollution levels that exceeded health-based guidelines. Air pollution was described as the world’s single largest environmental risk, linked to nearly 7 million premature deaths each year. Experts stressed that this is not a distant issue but a present-day crisis affecting hearts, lungs, brains and blood vessels.
The report noted that in New Delhi, air pollution had reached a crisis point. PM2.5 concentrations during peak periods regularly exceeded WHO guideline levels by 24 times.
The Air Quality Life Index estimated that such exposure reduced life expectancy by almost 12 years. Researchers linked this to higher risks of heart attacks, strokes, chronic respiratory disease and impaired brain development in children. It was reported that 15% of all deaths in Delhi could be attributed directly to air pollution.
The Supreme Court of India had even ordered lockdowns due to dangerous air quality. Justice Arun Mishra said:
“The world is laughing at us. You are reducing the lifespan of people. Why are people being forced to live in gas chambers? Better to get explosives and kill them all in one go.” A local doctor compared breathing Delhi’s air on a bad day to smoking 50 cigarettes daily.
UK deaths linked to air pollution
The Royal College of Physicians recently published findings that 30,000 deaths a year in the UK were linked to air pollution. The report asked what London might look like today without low-emission zones (LEZ) and ultra-low-emission zones (ULEZ). Road transport, particularly diesel vehicles, remained a major source of nitrogen oxides and particulate pollution.
Between 2016 and 2023, nitrogen dioxide levels in London declined by nearly half, with air quality improving at 99% of monitoring sites. A city hall report stated that in 2024, nitrogen dioxide was down by about 27% overall across London, while PM2.5 from vehicle exhausts was 31% lower in outer London than it would have been without ULEZ expansion. Despite improvements, many UK areas still breached safe limits too often.
Personal recommendations for cleaner air
Devi Sridhar suggested two further improvements for Britain. First, she urged drivers to switch off engines while waiting, as idling vehicles increased exhaust fumes and harmed both drivers and pedestrians. She noted that health gains from exercise or healthy eating could be undone by exposure to idling emissions.
Second, she highlighted the risks of wood-burning stoves and open fires, often marketed as sustainable and cosy. These produced fine particulate matter indoors and outdoors. WHO categorised this as indoor air pollution, a risk factor long targeted in low-income countries. A UK study linked wood burning to nearly 2,500 deaths annually, more than 27,000 years of life lost, and thousands of new cases of asthma and diabetes.
Source: Getty Images
New study warns billions could face extreme heat by 2050
Legit.ng earlier reported that a new study from the University of Oxford reported that almost half of the world’s population – around 3.79 billion people – would be living with extreme heat by 2050 if global warming reached 2.0°C above pre-industrial levels. Climate scientists described this scenario as increasingly likely.
Source: Legit.ng
