According to a report from the University of Montreal, air pollution kills more people than viruses – including COVID-19 – and wars combined.
The professor at the Faculty of Medicine at UdeM and environmental cardiology expert François Reeves compared the two problems in his study.
According to Health Canada, 15,000 people die each year in Canada from the direct impact of pollution on the body. Quebec residents represent a quarter of this sample. Specifically, 70% of these deaths are believed to be due to a dysfunction of the cardiovascular system.
Pollution is also estimated to cost $ 114 billion annually in health care and disability benefits worldwide. A large effort in good waste management systems, recycling and improved industrial processes in really needed at this time.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that pollution is the leading cause of death worldwide with around seven million victims annually. As of Thursday, COVID-19 was responsible for 140,000 deaths, comparatively less.
The slowdown in human activity could thus save more lives than the coronavirus will have cut, it is believed at the UdeM. This is a very likely assumption although it will take time to test it according to Dr. Reeves.
Closely linked viruses and pollution
The doctor’s report also shows that the areas most affected by the COVID-19 coronavirus are those that are most exposed to pollution.
Dr. Reeves therefore understands that the lungs of citizens are weakened by poor air quality and that a high level of pollution promotes contamination.
On the other hand, with people leaving their homes less frequently during a pandemic, the effect on perceived smog rates around the world was almost immediate.
Suddenly, we have probably reached the most daring greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets set by international climate conferences according to experts. In India, people have rediscovered the Himalayan summit, which had disappeared in smog for years. Elsewhere, the stars are suddenly visible.
Concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), produced mainly by vehicles and thermal power plants, fell 54% in Paris and about 45% in Madrid, Milan and Rome during containment, according to maps released by the European Space Agency.
From March 13 to April 13, 2020, NO2 concentrations decreased by 54% in the French capital, by 49% in Rome, by 48% in Madrid and by 47% in Milan, according to the ASE, compared to the averages recorded in March / April 2019. These data include a margin of error of plus or minus 15%.
The steep declines coincide with the strict quarantine measures in place across Europe. This reduction is remarkable, noted climate experts from the European Space Agency.
The agency initially focused on these cities thanks to satellite data cloudless and in general with less significant climate impacts than in other regions which may have an impact on NO2 measurements.
NO2, a gas causing significant inflammation of the respiratory tract, is a pollutant with a short lifespan, which makes it a good indicator of the intensity of human activities.These maps are based on the work of the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, which plans to publish other data for northern European countries.
We are not sure that this will develop in the same way in the northern countries where containment has been managed differently than in France, Spain and Italy. “Clouds and weather can also have a big impact on measurements.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is responsible for 68,000 premature deaths per year in the European Union, including 7,500 in France, according to the latest European Environment Agency air quality report for 2019 .