World Air Pollution Deaths 1990-2017: Slow Progression Developing

As I was exploring what to do for my next Udacity project, I felt like I wanted to do something regarding the environment. On kaggle.com, I came upon extensive data regarding world pollution deaths from 1990 to 2017.
I had a pretty good idea about the effects of outdoor air pollution, but was taken aback by the statistics regarding household pollution deaths.
The first question I asked was…what exactly is household pollution?
According to the PAHO (Pan-American Health Organization) and the WHO (World Health Organization), household air pollution is defined as “the incomplete combustion of kerosene and solid fuels (i.e. wood, coal, charcoal, crop waste, dung) from the use of open fires or in poorly vented simple stoves for cooking, heating and lighting.” (1)
The effects of household air pollution are devastating.

Household air pollution is associated with many respiratory problems such as pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Some major factors include fuel type, moisture content, household ventilation, and stove technology.

The PAHO and WHO states “the emitted toxic pollutants include particles of varying sizes, carbon monoxide, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, and several others. Combustion of coal, in addition to the above pollutants, releases sulfur oxides, heavy metals such as arsenic, and fluorine which also have very negative consequences on health.” (1)

For many African countries, household pollution is the primary form of air pollution that kills people.

Fig. 1: The thirty countries with the highest percentage of air pollution deaths due to household pollution.

It is no surprise that the countries with the highest percentage of household pollution deaths are nearly all in Africa. Exposure to household air pollution is most common in lower and middle-income countries.

Comparing the average among regions, Africa has 83% of households using polluting fuels for cooking. Southeast Asia has 59%, the Western Pacific has 42%, the Eastern Mediterranean is at 31% and the Americas/Europe averages less than 15%. The WHO estimates that “over 1 billion people each in China and India rely primarily on solid fuels for cooking.“(1)

When you look at the overall numbers worldwide for household pollution, one can see that there has been improvement overall. The 1990 average was close to 60% of pollution deaths due to household pollution. It improved in every following year until it hit the low of nearly 35% in 2017.
It shows that developed countries have the knowledge and the access to cleaner forms of fuel (as shown by Americas/Europe averaging less than 15% for polluting fuels).

`Fig. 2 The percentage of air pollution deaths due to household pollution throughout the world by year.`

The biggest problem lies in countries that are developing. As Kevin Wood from the Camfil company states: “Infrastructure in developing countries is frequently expanding so rapidly that cleaner and more efficient forms of energy cannot be practically installed.” (2)

If developing countries could look ahead and properly prepare, it would make a huge difference. Oftentimes developing countries spend much of their income paying for the health costs deriving from diseases caused by the pollution. As pollution is reduced, the life expectancy of workers increases and their productivity grows.

If developing countries had more support from developed countries in implementing cleaner forms of fuel, many lives would be saved and the developing countries would save on health costs in the long run.

`Fig. 3: The percentage of total deaths that are due to air pollution by year for the world.`

Looking at overall air pollution deaths per year, two countries average more than five times as many deaths as the closest countries.
China and India both average over a million deaths due to air pollution per year.
Let’s take a closer look at the countries just beyond China and India with the next bar chart.

`Fig. 4: The countries with the highest average air pollution deaths per year in the world.`

`Fig. 5: Countries with the highest average air pollution deaths per year in the world (excluding the Top 2 countries China and India).`

In terms of total deaths due to air pollution, there are definitely different tiers. With China and India in the top tier, way ahead of all other countries. The second tier features a mix of countries from regions such as Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The United States stands out as being the only Americas/European country in the top two tiers.

Tier three runs from Brazil to Japan (around 40,000 to 60,000 air pollution deaths a year).

The only countries in the top three tiers with a population less than 100 million are Ukraine with around 44 million people and Germany with 83 million people. (3)

In conclusion, many of the problems with air pollution (including household pollution) can be fixed with developed countries sharing knowledge and resources. This will help developing countries build systems for the usage of cleaner fuels both at home and for businesses.

Developed countries should also continue to invest in technologies for cleaner fuels and pass regulations to prevent more pollution. Nothing is more profitable than keeping your population healthy and productive. Developed countries need to lead by example in this way.