Air pollution is linked to nearly 7 million premature deaths worldwide every year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (1)(2).
Most of these deaths – 89% – take place in low- to middle-income countries, largely in WHO-designated South-East Asia and the Western Pacific regions. Those regions countries that have been among the thirty most polluted countries in the world.
including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Vietnam.
According to the WHO, half of the deaths caused by air pollution in 2020 were linked to indoor sources such as cooking over coal, wood or biomass stoves (3). The majority of people impacted were women and children, including more than 237,000 children under age 5.
Air pollution is now the world’s greatest single environmental risk.
Air pollution is now the world’s greatest single environmental risk (4) . The most common and dangerous pollutant is PM2.5, particulate matter measuring under 2.5 microns in diameter. PM2.5 is linked to both heart and lung disease.
Examples from history
The “Great Smog of London” is an example of the impact of air pollution on premature death rates. During a single weekend in 1952, pollution from coal-burning fireplaces was trapped over the city during a cold-weather inversion. The pollution exposure during that one single weekend caused more than 12,000 premature deaths and according to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, there was a significant increase in adult and childhood asthma cases following the event (5)(6).
In ancient times, air quality was also a cause of premature death. Researchers from the University of Manchester (U.K.) studied 15 lungs from ancient Egyptian mummies. They found high levels of particulates and lung scarring in all of them (7). The source of the particulates is believed to have been sandstorms and burning fossil fuels.
Air pollution and premature death today
More than 3,500 years later, air pollution is still a growing cause of premature death in many parts of the world. . Today, outdoor PM2.5 sources include vehicle emissions, power plant emissions, industrial processes, agricultural burning, and wildfire smoke. Indoor PM2.5 sources may include fuel-burning appliances and home heating.
For far too many people, regularly breathing polluted air poses a significant health risk. A study published in Lancet Planetary Health found that in India, deaths increased by 1.5 million people per year due to long-term exposure to air pollution (8). In South Asia, pollution levels routinely exceed “hazardous” air quality levels in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India across multiple years.
Why is air pollution so dangerous?
There are at least four specific ways air pollution contributes to premature death rates:
Heart Disease. A study published at the University of California, Berkeley, linked air pollution exposure to premature death from ischemic heart disease, which is reduced blood supply to the heart (9). Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the U.S. (10)
Cancer. Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer in 2022, accounting for 1.8 million deaths (11). The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified particulate pollution as carcinogenic (12).
Asthma. Air pollution is a major cause of asthma attacks. Asthma affected around 262 million people around the globe in 2019 and led to an estimated 455,000 deaths (13).
COPD. Air pollution is a leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The two most common forms of the disease are emphysema and bronchitis. An estimated 43% of global COPD deaths have been attributed to air pollution (14).
Take action against air pollution
The most important strategy for controlling air pollution and improving air quality is to reduce the sources of air pollution – especially pollution from traffic and power generation.
Here are a few suggested steps you can take, to control air pollution at the source, measure air quality and know when it’s poor, and maintain a healthy lifestyle on those poor air quality days:
On the road:
- Walk or ride a bike whenever possible.
- Take public transportation and advocate for increased access to clean energy public transportation in your community.
- When purchasing a new car, choose a low-polluting or zero-emission vehicle.
- Wear a FFP2 mask when outdoor air quality is poor.
- Keep your vehicle’s cabin healthy with a compact vehicle air purifier.
On the road:
- Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
- Replace incandescent lights with compact fluorescent light bulbs and look for energy-efficient appliances when replacing older appliances.
- Use clean cookstoves and reduce dependence on both gas burning stoves and gas-powered appliances (15).Avoid burning candles and incense by choosing cleaner air freshening options.
- Use a programmable thermostat and set it to 78 degrees in summer and 68 degrees in winter.
- Download a free air quality app to know the air quality in your neighborhood.
- Monitor your air quality both indoor and outdoors.
- Improve ventilation by opening windows when indoor air quality is poor and by closing them when outdoor air quality conditions degrade.
- Set to HVAC to recirculate mode when outdoor air quality is poor. Run a high-performance air purifier to maintain clean indoor air.
Conclusion
Air pollution kills nearly 7 million people yearly, mostly in poorer nations, due to heart disease, cancer, and lung illnesses. Indoor pollution from cooking with dirty fuels and outdoor smog cut lives short by years. Yet controlling source pollutants, improving indoor ventilation, and filtration can all provide clean air solutions.
From London’s 1952 smog to today’s global crisis, the pattern is clear: strong action saves lives. Switching to clean transport, cookstoves, and renewable energy can slash deaths and add years to life expectancy—but only if we act now.
- World Health Organization. (2025). Air quality, energy and health.
- World Health Organization. (2024, 24 October). Ambient (outdoor) air pollution.
- World Health Organization. (2024, 16 October). Household air pollution.
- The University of Chicago. (2024 August 27). Air pollution remains the greatest external risk to human health as most countries fail to set or meet their own standards for clean air.
- Martinez J. (2025, September 27). Great smog of London. Britannica.
- Bharadwaj P, Zivin J, Mullins J. (2016). Early-life exposure to the Great Smog of 1952 and the development of asthma. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. DOI: 10.1164/rccm.201603-0451OC
- Butrous G, Maron B, Yacoub M. (2020). The lamp of medicine of Ancient Egypt is still burning. Global Cardiology Science & Practice. DOI: 10.21542/gcsp.2020.16
- Stearnbourne C. (2024, December 12). Air pollution in India linked to millions of deaths.
- Mann J, Tager I, Lurmann F, et al. (2022). Air pollution and hospital admissions for ischemic heart disease in persons with congestive heart failure or arrhythmia. Environmental Health Perspectives. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.021101247.
- CDC. (2024). Leading causes of death, United States.
- Zhou J, Xu Y, Liu J, et al. (2024). Global burden of lung cancer in 2022 and projections to 2050: Incidence and mortality estimates from GLOBOCAN. Cancer Epidemiology. DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2024.102693
- World Health Organization. (2013, October 17). IARC: Outdoor air pollution a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths.
- World Health Organization. (2024, May 6). Asthma.
- Quansah R, Prince M. Amegbor P, Boateng G, et al. (2025, May 22). Editorial: Air pollution levels, health effects, and interventions. Frontiers in Environmental Health. DOI: 10.3389/fenvh.2025.1606391
- Lewis T. (2023, January 19). The health risks of gas stoves explained. Scientific American.
