Air pollution could reduce your life by 2years — AQLI 2024 Report
On September 6, 2024, 4:01 AM
New data from the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) reveals that air pollution significantly reduces life expectancy worldwide, even though global pollution levels saw a slight drop in 2022.
If fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) met World Health Organization (WHO) standards, people could live nearly two years longer on average, translating to 14.9 billion life-years saved globally.
Air pollution, especially from PM2.5 particles, is the leading external threat to human health, exceeding risks from smoking, alcohol, traffic accidents, and HIV/AIDS.
According to the University of Chicago’s AQLI data, people in heavily polluted areas live 2.7 years shorter on average than those in cleaner environments.
In 2021 alone, air pollution led to 8.1 million deaths globally—about 22,192 deaths each day. Disturbingly, one child dies every minute as a result of air pollution.
Ghana’s air quality
