Air pollution is a significant issue in China, with particulate matter (PM) being a major contributor to health problems. In 2019, the Global Burden of Disease Study estimated that air pollution was responsible for 1.85 million deaths in China, among which 1.42 million were attributable to particulate matter (PM)[1]. Ambient air pollution alone caused more than 1 million deaths per year in China[2].
Air pollution leads to various diseases, including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and respiratory infections[2]. Industry, transportation, coal power plants, and household solid fuel usage are major contributors to air pollution in China[2].
Despite some progress in reducing air pollution, it remains at an alarming rate in China, affecting economies and people’s quality of life[2]. Research has shown that for every 1% increase in PM2.5, household healthcare expenditure will increase by 2.942%[3]. This places a greater economic burden on the government and exacerbates an already problematic situation, given that the total medical expenses of clinic visits for respiratory diseases in China had already been high[3].
When does any city get to be just too gross, causing everyone in it to agree to changes needed to clean it up?
Citations:
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675822001084
[2] https://www.who.int/china/health-topics/air-pollution
[3] https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-13702-y
[4] https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/china-tackling-air-pollution-big-data/
[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8647684/
