Landscape fires are the cause of 90% of pollution-related deaths around the world : Study

The Lancet journal published a study that found that low- and middle-income countries, such as India, accounted for more than 90% of the global fatalities annually caused by air pollution from landscape fires.

China, Indonesia, and sub-Saharan Africa were the other countries with the highest burdens of disease, including wildfires, as a result of landscape fires.

A global team of researchers, including those from Monash University, Australia, discovered that landscape fires have a significant impact on public health, highlighting geographic and socioeconomic disparities.

Landscape fires can consist of both forest fires and those caused by human activities, and they can occur in both natural and built-up environments.  The air pollution resulting from these fires is primarily responsible for the majority of fatalities, leading to long-term cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses.

According to the research, pollution from landscape fires is causing an increasing number of global fatalities, with heart-related conditions accounting for approximately 0.45 million deaths annually and respiratory health issues accounting for approximately 0.22 million deaths annually.

The researchers used the 2019 Global Burden of Diseases Study to analyze yearly mortality, population, and socio-demographic data from 204 countries and territories between 2000 and 2019. The Institute of Health Metrics (IHME) at the University of Washington, US, coordinates this initiative, which offers the “most comprehensive and extensive” assessments of health losses worldwide over time.

In light of the increasing intensity of climate change, the authors urged immediate action to alleviate the health consequences of air pollution linked to landscape fires.

It was also emphasized that the socioeconomic disparities in mortality rates should be addressed by providing financial and technological support from high-income countries to assist more vulnerable developing countries.

The team stated that these endeavors would require the implementation of climate mitigation and adaptation policies to alleviate the health consequences of air pollution caused by landscape fires.

The analysis also used the Global Fire Emissions Database.