Category: Uncategorized

 So far, much of the focus of this blog has been on the relationship between air pollution and various aspects of human functions or activities. Have you ever wondered if the air around us is toxic not only to us, but also to the buildings we live, work and play in, as well as the infrastructure we use? Read on to find out!

Building degradation has been found to be primarily attributed to air pollution. Atmospheric pollutants in both wet and dry forms undermine materials through abrasion, deposition and removal, direct and indirect chemical attack, as well as corrosion (Rao et al., 2016). Air pollution leaves varying levels of damage on building integrity, depending on its material composition. These findings tie in well with real world observations of the deteriorating Taj Mahal and Charminar, ancient monuments made of limestone believed to be highly vulnerable to acid corrosion.

Continue reading Are buildings safe from air pollution?

Mental health is increasingly the talk of the town as modern lifestyles become more fast-paced and intensive. Despite growing awareness of the need to actively care for one’s mental health through various means, one cause of poor mental health is nearly impossible to evade – air pollution. 

In an earlier post, I mentioned how air pollution is responsible for 7 million global deaths annually. Today, I found out that mental disorders affect over 300 million people and that this figure rose by more than an astonishing 18% between 2005 and 2015 (Ali and Khoja, 2019).  In this entry, let us explore the relationship between air pollution and mental health in greater depth.

Continue reading Going mental from breathing

The tourism industry is a booming and pivotal sector of the economy for many countries. From supporting local livelihoods to boosting national GDP, most countries stand to benefit from tourism activities. Pollution is not what one would typically consider when travelling, but the truth is that the relationship between air pollution and tourism is one that cannot be ignored. Afterall, pollutants stay in the air for as long as happy memories stay in our minds!

The first aspect of this relationship pertains to the influence of air pollution on decisions regarding tourism. Local air quality and extent of air pollution are extremely important factors in determining the flow of tourism. Good air quality resonates well with tourists’ hopes of making fond memories at scenic spots, while poor air quality ruins the image of the destination for tourists (Su and Lee, 2022). Beyond these shattered geographical imaginations, practical conditions that arise from air pollution, such as increased health risk and poor visibility at attractions may make tourists averse to travelling to certain places.

Continue reading Don’t travel to where it’s polluted, and don’t pollute where you travel to!

Human capital is an intrinsic and crucial element in many aspects of modern economies. Whether it is labour-intensive work or the service sector, human capital remains the key driving force in most jobs. However, several studies have shown that the quality of this valuable resource can be undermined by air pollution, thereby limiting the true potential of human capital and labour.

What comes to mind first when you try to imagine how air pollution could possibly lower productivity? If you are picturing bodies becoming slower and weaker from breathing in polluted air outdoors, then we are on the same wavelength! A study by Zivin and Neidell (2012) has shown that surface ozone concentration and worker productivity are negatively related, where worker productivity improves by 5.5% for a 10 parts per billion (ppb) decline in surface ozone concentration.

Continue reading The more you breathe, the less you do?

A month ago, my classmate Cherie blogged about the links between air pollution and cognitive decline (check out her post here). In this entry, I hope to expand upon her findings by discussing how varying groups of people may have their cognitive abilities affected differently by air pollution.

Chandra et al. (2022) highlights that air pollution adversely affects humans’ cognitive capabilities throughout their life course, starting even before birth. Their studies on prenatal and postnatal exposure (to air pollution) yielded associations with adverse impacts on cognitive skills, adaptive functioning, and behavioural indices among children. Despite the absence of conclusive studies on the cognitive impacts of air pollution in low and lower-middle income countries (LICs and LMICs) , the authors suggest that greater dependence on wood stoves for cooking may translate to relatively more severe indoor air pollution and thus poorer cognitive abilities among adults in LICs and LMICs.

Continue reading Breathe and become stupid

Welcome back to the blog! In this entry, we zoom into the Arctic as a case study of the relationship between air pollution and climate change. In recent years, much attention has been drawn to these polar regions, which are warming at unprecedented rates. Read on to find out how air pollution comes into play!

Annual growth in greenhouse gas emissions have resulted in large-scale global warming, to which polar regions are most strongly affected. In merely 4 decades, the Arctic has warmed by almost 3°C, nearly four times as fast as other parts of Earth (Bamber, 2022). Accompanying the warming is a huge decline in Arctic sea ice minimum observed within the same period.

Continue reading The Arctic: Feeling the heat and losing the ice

While introducing the causes of air pollution in the previous two entries, the word ‘greenhouse’ surfaced several times. Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect are elements tied closely to the intense contemporary debate on climate change, which forms the basis for this entry.

The greenhouse effect is an important natural process in which atmospheric greenhouse gases trap heat that would otherwise escape to space. Without the greenhouse effect, Earth’s average surface temperature is predicted to be some 33°C lower (NASA, n.d.), making many parts of the globe inhabitable. However, the unchecked emission of greenhouse gases traps and reflects more heat back to the surface. Over time, the resultant ‘enhanced’ greenhouse effect disrupts Earth’s surface energy balance and inevitably leads to global warming.

Continue reading The linkages between air pollution and climate change

Thank you for tuning in to another entry on my blog! Today, we will address the question that I posed at the end of my previous entry – would air pollution occur even without human interference? Despite a lack of evidence indicating the presence of air pollution before humans existed , several naturally occurring phenomena are recognized for their varying extents of contribution to air pollution.

We’ve all heard about volcanic eruptions – but what do they entail? Simply put, volcanic eruptions occur when rocks within the extremely hot core of Earth melt to form liquid magma which rises and eventually escapes through the Earth’s surface along with other materials. Aside from the lava flow and hot rocks, volcanic gases and ash are significant air pollutants that accentuate the risks associated with eruptions. Water vapour, carbon dioxide, and sulphur dioxide constitute approximately 99% of the gases emitted during an eruption (USGS, n.d.)

Continue reading The not-so-natural causes of air pollution

Welcome back fellow readers! Having gained an overview of air pollution previously, aren’t you curious about how air pollution occurs? Well, there is little surprise here but we naughty humans are at the forefront of poisoning the very air we breathe. From simple, everyday activities to processes imperative for economies to function, much of what we do is leaving irreversible harm on the air around us. In this entry, let us explore some anthropogenic (human-induced) sources of air pollution.

The world is driven by energy – but where is this energy derived from? This interactive chart (hover your mouse around the different years!) shows us that global fossil fuel consumption has multiplied twenty-fold since the industrialization era of the mid-20th century. Today, humans rely heavily on fossil fuels for a wide range of purposes like electricity generation, transportation, and industrial operations. Perera (2017) reports that fossil fuel combustion is responsible for emitting 85% of particulate matter and almost all of the sulphur dioxide as well as nitrogen oxide in the air. What I found really disturbing was that just by extracting or producing fossil fuels produces huge amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas highly efficient at trapping heat (Perera, 2017). Despite the proliferation of endeavours on developing clean and renewable energy sources, approximately 84% of global energy demand continues to be supplied by fossil fuels, which are readily available and difficult to substitute (Rapier, 2020)

Continue reading Humans: Polluting the air that gives us life

Hello and welcome readers to the first official entry of my blog! Today, I will introduce you to air pollution and provide an overview on its significance in our world today.

The World Health Organization (n.d.) found that air pollution is mainly attributed to chemical, physical, or biological agents that contaminate outdoor and indoor environments. Yes, you read that right – staying indoors does not spare you from the harmful effects of air pollution. In fact, a recent blog post by the World Bank suggests that an astonishing 94% of the global population is breathing air deemed to be unsafe and excessively polluted!

Continue reading Air pollution: What is it and why is it a big deal?