Dataset Information

Global population exposure to landscape fire air pollution from 2000 to 2019.

ABSTRACT: Wildfires are thought to be increasing in severity and frequency as a result of climate change^1-5. Air pollution from landscape fires can negatively affect human health^4-6, but human exposure to landscape fire-sourced (LFS) air pollution has not been well characterized at the global scale^7-23. Here, we estimate global daily LFS outdoor fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) and surface ozone concentrations at 0.25° × 0.25° resolution during the period 2000-2019 with the help of machine learning and chemical transport models. We found that overall population-weighted average LFS PM_2.5 and ozone concentrations were 2.5 µg m^-3 (6.1% of all-source PM_2.5) and 3.2 µg m^-3 (3.6% of all-source ozone), respectively, in 2010-2019, with a slight increase for PM_2.5, but not for ozone, compared with 2000-2009. Central Africa, Southeast Asia, South America and Siberia experienced the highest LFS PM_2.5 and ozone concentrations. The concentrations of LFS PM_2.5 and ozone were about four times higher in low-income countries than in high-income countries. During the period 2010-2019, 2.18 billion people were exposed to at least 1 day of substantial LFS air pollution per year, with each person in the world having, on average, 9.9 days of exposure per year. These two metrics increased by 6.8% and 2.1%, respectively, compared with 2000-2009. Overall, we find that the global population is increasingly exposed to LFS air pollution, with socioeconomic disparities.

SUBMITTER: Xu R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10511322 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Global population exposure to landscape fire air pollution from 2000 to 2019.

Xu Rongbin R Ye Tingting T Yue Xu X Yang Zhengyu Z Yu Wenhua W Zhang Yiwen Y Bell Michelle L ML Morawska Lidia L Yu Pei P Zhang Yuxi Y Wu Yao Y Liu Yanming Y Johnston Fay F Lei Yadong Y Abramson Michael J MJ Guo Yuming Y Li Shanshan S

Nature 20230920 7979

Wildfires are thought to be increasing in severity and frequency as a result of climate change1-5. Air pollution from landscape fires can negatively affect human health4-6, but human exposure to landscape fire-sourced (LFS) air pollution has not been well characterized at the global scale7-23. Here, we estimate global daily LFS outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and surface ozone concentrations at 0.25° × 0.25° resolution during the period 2000-20 ...[more]

PMID: 37730866

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Project description:Air pollution is the fourth greatest overall risk factor for human health. Despite declining levels in Europe, air pollution still represents a major health and economic burden. We collected data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 regarding overall, as well as ischemic heart disease (IHD), stroke, and tracheal, bronchus and lung cancer-specific disability adjusted life years (DALYs), years of life lost (YLL) and mortality attributable to air pollution for 43 European countries between 1990 and 2019. Concentrations of ambient particulate matter (aPM2.5), ozone, and household air pollution from solid fuels were obtained from State of Global Air 2020. We analysed changes in air pollution parameters, as well as DALYs, YLL, and mortality related to air pollution, also taking into account gross national income (GNI) and socio-demographic index (SDI). Using a novel calculation, aPM2.5 ratio (PMR) change and DALY rate ratio (DARR) change were used to assess each country's ability to decrease its aPM2.5 pollution and DALYs to at least the extent of the European median decrease within the analysed period. Finally, we created a multiple regression model for reliably predicting YLL using aPM2.5 and household air pollution. The average annual population-weighted aPM2.5 exposure in Europe in 1990 was 20.8 μg/m3 (95% confidence interval (CI) 18.3-23.2), while in 2019 it was 33.7% lower at 13.8 μg/m3 (95% CI 12.0-15.6). There were in total 368 006 estimated deaths in Europe in 2019 attributable to air pollution, a 42.4% decrease compared to 639 052 in 1990. The majority (90.4%) of all deaths were associated with aPM2.5. IHD was the primary cause of death making up 44.6% of all deaths attributable to air pollution. The age-standardised DALY rate and YLL rate attributable to air pollution were more than 60% lower in 2019 compared to 1990. There was a strong positive correlation (r = 0.911) between YLL rate and aPM2.5 pollution in 2019 in Europe. Our multiple regression model predicts that for 10% increase in aPM2.5, YLL increases by 16.7%. Furthermore, 26 of 43 European countries had a positive DARR change. 31 of 43 European countries had a negative PMR change, thus not keeping up with the European median aPM2.5 concentration decrease. When categorising countries by SDI and GNI, countries in the higher brackets had significantly lower aPM2.5 concentration and DALY rate for IHD and stroke. Overall, air pollution levels, air pollution-related morbidity and mortality have decreased considerably in Europe in the last three decades. However, with the growing European population, air pollution remains an important public health and economic issue. Policies targeting air pollution reduction should continue to be strongly enforced to further reduce one of the greatest risk factors for human health.

Dataset Information

Global population exposure to landscape fire air pollution from 2000 to 2019.

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Global population exposure to landscape fire air pollution from 2000 to 2019.

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