It’s 2050. Six million people are already dead due to air pollution. The ozone is shot and civilians need to carry around oxygen canisters and wear masks just to stay alive. Most are packing up and heading to Mars, where the air is more breathable.
Okay, okay…that seems a little farfetched, but 6 million is not a number that has been pulled out of thick, polluted air. Research conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany has shown that the environment is not the only thing affected by pollution; it also greatly influences the people immersed in it.
In studying air pollution, researchers examined health statistics of different areas in the world and related those numbers to contamination factors, which have led to the prediction that 6 million people per year will succumb to pollution’s deadly effects starting in 2050. Even within the past few years alone, 3 million annual deaths were either directly or indirectly related to pollution.
Where in the world is pollution is the worst?
China has a notorious reputation when it comes to pollution. The country attributes 1.5 million of the 3 million deaths that occur annually. Moreover, about half a million people die in Pakistan, as well as in India per year, mainly due to pollution that is caused by heating and cooking. By contrast, pollution related deaths in United States are caused mostly by power plants, although northeastern U.S. is also affected by agricultural pollution related to the spread of ammonia. Similarly, Europe and Russia have to deal with agricultural pollution.
How is pollution slowly killing us?
Pollution is dangerous due to the tiny particles that are floating in the air. These particles are inhaled and shortly enter our lungs and bloodstream. Because they are extremely small in size, only measuring about 2.5 micrometers, they do not always get removed or filtered from our bodies. This eventually makes us more susceptible to many diseases, including strokes and heart attacks.
