The One Show: Alex Jones SHOCKED by air pollution statistic
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One key factor, according to a new German study, is where someone lives.
Scientists from the Universitatmedizin Berlin have found those who live in highly polluted areas such as cities are more likely to develop severe cases of COVID-19 than those who live in less polluted areas.
The study discovered people who live in places with high levels of a chemical known as nitrogen dioxide were more likely to end up in intensive care units (ICUs) and in need of mechanical ventilation.
Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical released into the air after fossil fuels are burned; the gas is known to have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, causing the heart and blood vessels to become damaged.
In a statement Susanne Koch of the Universitatmedizin Berlin said: “Our results show a positive association between long-term nitrogen dioxide exposure and COVID-19 fatality and COVID-19 incidence rate.”
Although the study’s results are thought provoking, they were unable to prove a causative relationship between air pollution and severe Covid.
Koch added: “Exposure to ambient air pollution can contribute to a range of other conditions, including heart attacks, norfloxacin prospect si pret strokes, asthma, and lung cancer, and will continue to harm health long after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
“A transition to renewable energy, clean transportation, and sustainable agriculture is urgently needed to improve air quality.”
Air pollution has been discussed to a greater extent in recent years amid more attention being paid to the climate crisis.
The Universitatmedizin Berlin study is a reminder of the harm air pollution can cause to the body.
According to the Royal College of Physicians, air pollution causes the equivalent of around 40,000 deaths a year.
Air pollution has also been linked to several conditions including diabetes, obesity, changes linked to dementia, cancer, asthma, stroke, and heart disease.
Such is the worsening of air pollution in the UK’s capital that in recent years, health officials have warned people in the capital not to exercise on certain days for fear of doing severe damage to their cardiovascular system.
Air pollution doesn’t just cause severe damage, it can also cause death.
In 2021 a coroner ruled nine-year-old Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah’s death had in part been caused by the poor air in London.
Coroner Philip Barlow said air pollution “made a material contribution” to her death.
However, air pollution isn’t just a London problem, it’s a global problem.
Scientists say air pollution is responsible for one in six deaths globally.
Professor Philip Landrigan, lead author of the study, said in a statement: “Pollution is still the largest existential threat to human and planetary health.
“Preventing pollution can also slow climate change and our report calls for a massive, rapid transition away from all fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.”
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