A report by UNICEF and the U.S. Health Impact Institute says 8.1 million people will die globally from this cause in 2021.
Deadlier than tobacco, diabetes or unsafe water. In the fifth edition of the State of the World’s Air Report, released today, air pollution is the second leading cause of death worldwide after hypertension and malnutrition among children under five. The document, prepared by the U.S.-based Health Effects Institute in collaboration with UNICEF, shows for the first time that 8.1 million people worldwide died from air pollution in 2021 alone, and that 700,000 of those deaths were children who were not affected by air pollution. It also details that 500,000 of the latter died because of air conditions in a place that should have been safe for them: their homes, due to the use of polluting cooking fuels, mostly in Africa and Asia.
