About a quarter of all deaths worldwide in 2012 were caused by preventable environmental factors such as climate change, air, water and soil pollution and chemical exposures, the World Health Organis-
About a quarter of all deaths worldwide in 2012 were caused by preventable environmental factors such as climate change, air, water and soil pollution and chemical exposures, the World Health Organis-ation said in a recent report. According to the report, these environmental risk factors led to 12.6 million deaths out of a total 55.6 million.
Significantly, two-thirds of these, or 8.2 million deaths, were from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to air pollution, such as strokes, cancers and heart illnesses — a significant rise in the 10 years since the first edition of the report was published.
“Environmental risks take their greatest toll on young children and older people, with children under five and adults aged 50 to 75 years most affected,” the report said. Lower respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases mostly impact children under five, while older people are most affected by NCDs such as heart diseases.
“A healthy environment underpins a healthy population,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO’s director-general. “If countries do not take actions to make environments where people live and work healthy, millions will continue to become ill and die too young.”
The report also found that mortality from environmental risks was highest in impoverished regions in sub-Saharan Africa and low and middle-income countries in Asia.
“The actual share of deaths attributable to the environment is most likely somewhere in the range of 13 to 34 per cent,” the report said.
“There’s an urgent need for investment in strategies to reduce environmental risks in our cities, homes and workplaces,” Maria Neira, director of the public health and environment department at WHO, said.
