Pollution Free Cities: Where Are You Most Likely to Die from Air Pollution?

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Where Are You Most Likely to Die from Air Pollution?

Here’s where you’re most likely to die from air pollution(John Metcalfe, Grist, Sep. 20, 2013)

Also discussed here:The Global Toll of Fine Particulate Matter(NASA Earth Observatory, Sep. 19, 2013)

And here:An Estimate of the Global Burden of Anthropogenic Ozone and  Fine Particulate Matter on Premature Human Mortality Using  Atmospheric Modeling(Susan C. Anenberg, Larry W. Horowitz, Daniel Q. Tong, J. Jason West^,Environmental health Perspectives, Apr. 9, 2010)

And here:Air Pollution Kills More Than 2 Million a Year(John Metcalfe, Atlantic Cities, Jul. 16, 2013)

Today we review a map showing levels of pollution, expressed in terms of premature deaths per year per 1,000 km2. The map was based on global atmospheric modeling which shows the relative impact of air pollution (specifically PM2.5) on human mortality between 1850 and 2000. Not surprisingly, the most polluted areas lie in China and India. Somewhat surprisingly, the southeast states in the USA show improvement as a result of cleaner ways of producing cotton and a decrease in local biomass burning.

air-pollution-global-premature-deaths-map-nasa-key

Key Quotes:

“PM_2.5 mortality estimates are about 50% higher than previous measurement-based estimates based on common assumptions, mainly because of methodologic differences. Specifically, we included rural populations, suggesting higher estimates; however, the coarse resolution of the global atmospheric model may underestimate urban PM_2.5 exposures.”

“Heavily urbanized places in eastern China, India, Indonesia, and Europe are stippled by the darkest colors of snuff, meaning they experience rates of ruination as high as 1,000 deaths per square kilometer each year.”

“areas painted in blue show where humanity has managed to lower its output of choking smog since the 1850s. These safer havens include spots in the middle of South America and the Southeastern United States”

“ 2.1 million deaths a year can be attributed to one type of pollution alone — fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which are teensy specks that fly out of car-exhaust pipes, industrial smokestacks..”