With this combination of emissions and modelling, the team was able to tease out different sources of air pollution – everything from energy production to the burning of oil and gas to dust storms.
Researchers also used a computational tool called GEOS-Chem, which divides Earth's surface into 30-by-36-mile blocks and allows each square to be analysed individually. Globally, these emissions caused deadly conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, respiratory infections, lung cancer, stroke and heart disease.Īccording to the researchers, the main 'takeaway' from their study is that air pollution 'continues to sicken and kill people'.įor the study, first author Erin McDuffie, a visiting research associate in Martin's lab, developed a new global dataset of air pollution emissions. The results reveal the industrial sectors that are responsible for the deadly PM2.5 emissions – namely, agriculture, energy, transport and waste, among others. 'PM2.5 is the world's leading environmental risk factor for mortality,' said Professor Martin. 'Our key objective is to understand its sources.' Louis and Michael Brauer, a professor of public health at the University of British Columbia. The study was led by Professor Randall Martin at Washington University in St. The largest number of deaths in 2017 due to PM2.5 occurred in China and India, the team revealed.Ĭomplete elimination of burning coal, as well as oil and natural gas, in China and India could reduce the global PM2.5 disease burden by nearly 20 per cent. Coal fires are one of the largest sources of PM2.5, which can lodge in the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing fatal lung and heart diseases.
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