It is estimated that 12.6 million people die as a result of living or working in an unhealthy environment every year. Environmental risk factors, such as air, water and soil pollution, chemical exposures, climate change, and ultraviolet radiation contribute to more than 100 diseases and injuries.
As per a report by World Health Organisations, Annually, 1.7 million deaths in children under 5 years of age are due to the environment. The most prominent causes of death are lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, and diarrhoeal diseases.
Moreover, 800 people every hour are killed by air pollution, that is more than three times the amount of people who die from malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS combined each year. Burning of fossil fuels, industrial use, transport, agriculture, burning of agricultural waste, open waste burning and organic waste in landfills are the main causes of air pollution.
Water Contamination is another cause due to which health is impacted. Chemical toxins in the water increase the risk of diseases and have an adverse effect on the health of people. In some parts of the world, heavy metals such as arsenic are natural contaminants of groundwater that is used for drinking. This results in the chronic exposure of millions of people to arsenic at levels that can cause a number of different illnesses.
“A ruined planet cannot sustain human lives in good health. A healthy planet and healthy people are two sides of the same coin.”
-Dr. Margaret Chan, Executive Director of the World Health Organization
Environmental issues like air pollution have detrimental effects. 3.8 million premature deaths each year are caused by household air pollution. The vast majority of them in the developing world and about 60% of those deaths are among women and children. Exposure to environmental risk factors is unequally distributed due to factors such as social characteristics like income, social status, employment and education.
