The State of Global Air Report

• Background: The State of Global Air Report is a collaborative assessment by the US-based Health Effects Institute (HEI) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project. For the first time, this report has been produced in partnership with UNICEF.
• Scope: The report’s findings are linked to the disease burden estimated for the year 2021 across approximately 200 countries.
• New Inclusions: In addition to the ongoing focus on PM2.5 and ozone, nitrogen oxides (NO2) has been included in the risk assessment for the first time.

Key Findings

• Death Toll from Air Pollution: In 2021, air pollution contributed to 8.1 million deaths, accounting for more than 1 in 8 deaths worldwide. The breakdown is as follows:
  • 58% of deaths were due to ambient PM2.5.
  • 38% of deaths were due to household air pollution.
  • 6% of deaths were due to ozone exposure.
• Leading Risk Factor: Air pollution was the second leading risk factor for early death worldwide in 2021, second only to high blood pressure.
  • Among children under 5, air pollution was the second leading risk factor for early death, following malnutrition.
  • Exposure to air pollution was linked to approximately 15% of all global deaths in children under 5.
• Geographic Burden: Countries in South Asia and Africa bear the largest burden of disease linked to air pollution.
  • India and China together accounted for 55% of the global burden, with India experiencing 2.1 million deaths and China 2.3 million deaths due to air pollution.
• Trends in PM2.5 Levels: Globally, ambient PM2.5 levels are either decreasing or stabilizing in many regions. However, populations in low and middle-income countries are exposed to 1.3-4 times higher levels of ambient PM2.5 compared to those in high-income countries.