In 2010, long-term outdoor exposure to ozone air pollution contributed to about one million premature respiratory deaths globally – approximately one in five of all respiratory deaths.

Scientists at the University of York’s Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) have released new figures showing long-term exposure to ozone air pollution is linked to one million premature deaths per year due to respiratory diseases - more than double previous estimates.

Published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, findings were based on results from a recent US analysis of the association of long-term ozone exposure and respiratory mortality in 670,000 adults. This is a substantially larger number of study participants and observed deaths than a previous estimate from 2003, on which previous global ozone health impact calculations have been based.

Ozone is formed in the atmosphere from emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides from vehicles, organic compounds from solvent use, and methane from agriculture. Once formed, ozone can stay in the atmosphere for weeks and travel long distances from emission sources, across countries and continents.

The largest number of ozone-attributable respiratory deaths was from Asia, accounting for about 79 per cent of the total one million global estimated deaths.

India accounted for about 400,000, and China for about 270,000. Africa, Europe and North America each had between 50,000 and 60,000 ozone-attributable deaths, with fewer in Latin America and Oceania.

Continue reading at University of York’s Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)

Image credit: Aulia Erlangga/CIFOR