Interesting air pollution facts

Air pollution is not political. It is in countries the world over. Air pollution from China has
been tracked to the Central Valley of California!

Recent high air pollution in Beijing has been spreading the persistent “Beijing Cough”.

According to a study in The Lancet, outdoor air pollution is one of the top ten killers on the planet. 65 percent of those deaths occur in Asia, and nearly 25% of those in India. In South Asia, outdoor air pollution is the sixth highest killer, behind second place indoor air pollution.

By the numbers air pollution kills over 3 million every year.

In the Philippines, auto sales are up close to 30%. Correspondingly, so is air pollution.
Some 2 million cars in Manila now cause 80% of air pollution there.

In India, air pollution is believed to cause 527,700 fatalities a year.

Air pollution in many cities in the Asian sub continent is becoming dangerous, and increasing fast. Fine particle levels in 70% of cities exceeds even the lowest standards.
The World Health Org. Says 800,000 premature deaths are part of the result.

The European Environmental Agency reports that 50,000 British Citizens die every year
from bad air there.

Tailpipe emissions account for 70 percent of the air pollution in major Chinese cities

Studies have estimated that the number of people killed annually from air pollution in
the US could be over 50,000.

In Southern California alone, 5,000 annual premature deaths are attributed to pollution from short-haul diesel trucks!

Air pollution has been around a long time. The Great Smog of 1952 in London killed at
least 8,000 people.

World Health Organization: The European Union could save up to 161 billion euros a
year by reducing deaths caused by air pollution.

Over 80% of lung damaging particulate matter in Cities - PPM10 comes from cars,
trucks, buses, and other vehicles on the road.

Air pollution around cities is clearly visible from space.

Air pollution in large cities is now the worst. It is estimated that 750,000 people die
prematurely in China each year, mainly from air pollution in large cities.

Electric vehicles stir up dust like other vehicles, but they do not emit gases like other
vehicles

On days when pollution levels are up, it is better not to go out and exercise.

Recent work by MIT researchers shows that some 13,000 British citizens pass away
early due to air pollution from vehicles and power plants. That averages to 35 per day.

In California, air pollution kills more people (25,000 per year) than car crashes, and
costs around $200 Million in medical expenses.

In China about 300,000 people die yearly from lung cancer and heart disease directly
related to air pollution.

In places where the pollution is real thick, people need to wear masks.

Back in the day, some 20,000 were killed by fallout from some 2,000 nuclear tests.

Strong perfume can be as bad to breathe as cigarette smoke!

As light crude oil gets scarcer, heavy oil and tar sands get more and more produced.
Producing heavy crude increases air pollution up to 40% over producing lighter crude!

It has recently been shown in the Journal Lancet that traffic-induced air pollution
increases the risk of heart attack for anybody breathing that air.

Global CO2 emissions actually dropped 1.3 percent in 2009, as reported in the The
journal of Environmental Research Letters. However, emissions in China and India
went up 9 and 6 percent respectively. The price of progress.

By 2050, air pollution will kill an estimated 6 million people per year.

3,000 year old Giant Sequoia trees are being impacted by Southern California smog.
The Ozone in the Sequoia National Park is as intense as in California Cities. Hikers
are warned that a walk in the park is not good for the lungs. Government employees are
cautioned of an "unsafe workplace" and lung and heart damage due to the crappy air.
Wonder how the animals fare?

On the plus side

Air in the USA, at least, has improved a lot since the 1970 Clean Air Act went into
effect.

Measured levels of all major air pollution elements: ozone, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter and lead, have dropped a major amount
since 1970. Carbon monoxide (CO) levels are down more than 70 percent.

Regarding diesel pollution and heart attacks: It has recently been discovered that a
particulate filter on the emitting vehicle can reduce particulate pollution up to 98
percent. Wow, this is good news if vehicle owners care to pony up the $2,000 to
$7,000 per filter.

China has pledged to spend $56 billion in an effort to reduce air pollution
levels in 117 cities by 5%. The work targets reduction in PM 2.5 particulates.

Happiness and Air Pollution

One of the more interesting pollution facts is that happiness may be partly contingent on
air quality! Wow, who knew? Economists at Trent University, Ontario, Canada that's who. After checking how happy people are against air quality in some 14 EU countries, the
group concludes that there is a strong link between good air and happy on the one end
with bad air making people less happy on the other end.

Links to more Interesting Air Pollution Facts

There is such a thing as the ozone hole

Smog is worse when there is a temperature inversion - temperatures get warm
going higher rather than getting cooler going higher

Take a look at the effects of Acid Rain

Here is a list of the so called 10 most polluted places

Here are some useful Air Pollution Definitions