Pollution by fossil fuels causes 1 d …

More than 8 million people died in 2018 worldwide from breathable air contaminated with particles from the combustion of fuels such as coal, gasoline or diesel, a figure significantly higher than that suggested by previous research.

According to a study by the Harvard University, in collaboration with the universities of Birmingham, Leicester and the University College London, published in the journal Environmental Research, 1 in 5 deaths (18-21.5%) each year can be attributed to pollution from fossil fuels.

Thus, regions with the highest concentrations of fossil fuel-related air pollution – including eastern North America, Europe and Southeast Asia – have the highest death rates. .

A press release from Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), the largest and most comprehensive study on the causes of global mortality, the Global Burden of Disease Study, estimated at 4.2 million the total number of deaths worldwide due to particles carried by outdoor air. This includes dust, smoke from forest fires and agricultural burning.

During. it is calculated that Fossil fuel emissions alone are responsible for the deaths of 8.7 million people.

A higher figure than previous searches

According to Harvard, the difference with previous studies is that they have relied on satellite and surface observations to estimate annual average concentrations of particulate matter in the air, PM2.5.

However, satellite and surface observations cannot distinguish between particles from fossil fuel emissions and those from dust, smoke from forest fires or other sources.

“With satellite data, you only see pieces of the puzzle”said Loretta J. Mickley, author of the new study, who noted that satellites are difficult to distinguish between different types of particles and “there can be gaps in the data.”

Faced with this scenario, the researchers resorted to GEOS-Chem, a global 3D model of atmospheric chemistry executed in SEAS, thanks to which scientists were able to divide the globe into a grid and study each of its small squares.

“Instead of relying on averages spread over large regions, we wanted to map where pollution is and where people live, to find out more exactly what they are breathing,” explains Karn Vohra, from the University of Birmingham.

To model the PM2.5 generated by the combustion of fossil fuels, estimates of emissions from several sectors, such as energy, industry, ships, airplanes and land transport, were used, in addition to the data. meteorological.

Specifically, the scientists used data mainly from 2012, a year that was not influenced by the phenomenon. The boy, which can worsen or improve air pollution, and updated them to reflect “the significant change” in China’s fossil fuel emissions, which were halved between 2012 and 2018, according to the authors.

Thus, this new model, which relates the concentration levels of particles from fossil fuel emissions with the effects on health, found a higher death rate from long-term exposure to fossil fuels, even at lower concentrations.

The study indicates that, globally, exposure to particulate matter from these emissions accounted for 21.5% of all deaths in 2012, and in 2018, it fell to 18% due to tougher control measures. air in China.

Burning fossil fuels produces fine particles loaded with toxins that are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, and the risks of inhaling these PM2.5 particles are well documented.

“Our study adds to growing evidence that air pollution from continued reliance on fossil fuels is detrimental to global health,” said Eloise Marais of University College London.

And concluded: “We cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels when we know there are serious health effects and we know of viable and cleaner alternatives.