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You may have never heard of PM2.5. But if you plan to continue breathing, it should be at the top of your vocabulary list.
PM2.5 is the technical term for fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. It's the smallest unit of air pollution, the kind of fossil fuels. It's small enough to invade human airways and slip into the bloodstream.
Exposure to PM2.5 air pollution has detrimental effects on the heart and lungs. It hits the eyes of the dead, and has an impact on the womb.
There's also mounting evidence that PM2.5 can penetrate our brains. In the US, researchers found that higher rates of PM2.5 had higher rates of dementia-and that when PM2.5 levels fell, dementia prevalence decreased.
There are still many unanswered questions, including how long it takes for the particle to be damaged, or if it's possible to recover by breathing cleaner air later on. But scientists estimate that, globally, PM2.5 exposure caused 4.2 million deaths in 2015. They can also calculate the impact of population growth. For example, we know that the Trump administration's proposed rollback of Obama-era coalitions could lead to 1,400 more deaths in the US.
A recent World Health Organization (WHO) report postulated that the global population of the lungs was reduced to 50% of the total number of deaths worldwide.
However, right now 95% of the total population is exposed to PM2.5 levels exceeding the limits of the WHO's recommended levels-and that pollution has increased steadily in the past decade.
As we know it, we are trying to find a better way to do it..
This is published in the weekend edition of the Quartz Daily Brief, a news summary for Asia, Europe and Africa, or the Americas. Sign up for it here.
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