Ninety two percent of pollution-related deaths, and the greatest burden of pollution’s economic losses, occur in low-income and middle-income countries

Pollution is responsible for around 9 million deaths per year, accounting for one in six deaths worldwide, reveals the latest report of The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.

Air pollution – both household and ambient air pollution – is generally responsible for the greatest number of deaths, causing 6·7 million deaths while water pollution claims 1·4 million lives. The report also reveals pollution’s deep inequity: 92 percent of pollution-related deaths, and the greatest burden of pollution’s economic losses, occur in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The economic effects of air pollution are especially severe in regions of East Asia and the Pacific, where losses are equivalent to 9·3 percent of the GDP, and South Asia, where it is 10·3 percent of GDP.

“The impact of pollution on health remains much greater than that of war, terrorism, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, drugs, and alcohol, and the number of deaths caused by pollution are on par with those caused by smoking,” the report says.

The effect of pollution on disease and disability also varies by sex. Men are more likely to die from exposure to ambient air pollution, lead pollution, and occupational pollutants. Women and children are more likely to die from exposure to water pollution than men.

The report underlines that little progress has been made to combat pollution, particularly in the low-income and middle-income countries, where pollution is most severe. India, the report says, has developed instruments and regulatory powers to mitigate pollution sources. But there is no centralized system to drive pollution control efforts and achieve substantial improvements. in 93 percent of India where the amount of pollution remains well above WHO guidelines.

Earlier, the study carried out by the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health in 2015 had also found that the pollution was responsible for 9 million deaths in 2015, making it the world’s largest environmental risk factor for disease and premature death.

“We have now updated this estimate using data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2019. We find that pollution remains responsible for approximately 9 million deaths per year, corresponding to one in six deaths worldwide,” the Lancet says.

The data reveals pollution’s “severe and underreported contribution to the Global Burden of Disease”.

The current report presents an updated estimate of the effects of pollution on health, made on the basis of the GBD 2019 data. It also makes an assessment of trends since 2000.

“These data show that the situation has not improved and that pollution remains a major global threat to health and prosperity. Since 2000, the steady decline in the number of deaths from the ancient scourges of household air pollution, unsafe drinking water, and inadequate sanitation are offset by increasing deaths attributable to the more modern forms of pollution,” Lancet report says.

The evidence is strong and growing that exposure to particular manufactured chemicals, even at low doses, can have adverse effects on fertility and pregnancy, the report adds. Pesticides, industrial chemicals – halogenated flame-retardants, plasticizers, and dioxins – environmental chemicals of pharmaceutical origin, and toxic metals have been linked to a range of reproductive problems.

“Prenatal and early postnatal exposure to chemicals also appear to be linked to an increased incidence of reproductive diseases later in life, including endometriosis, breast cancer, cervical cancer, uterine cancer, and testicular cancer.”

Pollution, the report says, is a planetary threat, and its drivers, its dispersion, and its effects on health transcend local boundaries and demand a global response.

“Global action on all major modern pollutants is needed. Global efforts can synergies with other global environmental policy programmes, especially as a large-scale, rapid transition away from all fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy is an effective strategy for preventing pollution while also slowing down climate change, and thus achieves a double benefit for planetary health,” the report states.