The Danger of Fossil Fuel Pollution

Smoking kills 8 million people a year. Strokes, 5 million. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, 2.3 million have died globally.

But a new report has highlighted that there's a cause of death that exceeds all of these — an “invisible killer” that took the lives of 8.7 million people in 2018. Whether you want to or not, it’s something you’ll likely be breathing in at some point today.

We’re talking about the air pollution that comes from fossil fuels.

The study found that fossil fuels were responsible for 1 in 5 of all deaths worldwide in 2018, far exceeding all previous estimates on the potential mortality rate of air pollution.

It was a collaborative effort, published in the scientific journal Environmental Research, between scientists from three UK universities — the University of Birmingham, the University of Leicester, and University College London (UCL) — and Harvard University in the US.

“We were initially very hesitant when we obtained the results because they are astounding, but we are discovering more and more about the impact of this pollution,” said Eloise Marais, co-author of the study from University College London. “It’s pervasive. The more we look for impacts, the more we find.”

Previous estimates from Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air last year suggested that air pollution killed 4.5 million people in 2018, all while costing the global economy an estimated $2.9 trillion annually. However, a Lancet study concluded the number was 4.2 million.

The new report's estimate of 8.7 million is therefore a substantial escalation. It examines a specific form of particulate matter called PM2.5 — basically, a mixture of microscopic droplets in the air like smoke and dirt, smaller than a single human hair, that’s released by things like cars.

And according to the Guardian, this study was all about detail: instead of the standard measuring system of using a combination of satellites and on-the-ground observations, it used 3D modelling overseen by NASA to allow for closer inspection of the air breathed by adults over the age of 15.

The new report's estimate of 8.7 million is therefore a substantial escalation. It examines a specific form of particulate matter called PM2.5 — basically, a mixture of microscopic droplets in the air like smoke and dirt, smaller than a single human hair, that’s released by things like cars.