H, caused by , is associated with more than 1.5 million annually around the world, the vast majority of which are recorded in developing countries, according to research carried out from 2000 to 2019 and published today.
The number of these deaths is also expected to increase in the coming years, because they are increasingly frequent and intense due to the research published in the scientific journal The Lancet.
An international team of researchers studied the existing data, both on forest fires and on the burning of agricultural land to clear agricultural residues.
Diseases
Based on their findings, from 2000 to 2019 approximately 450,000 deaths per year from heart disease are linked to air pollution caused by wildfires.
They also attributed another 220,000 deaths from respiratory diseases to smoke and fine particles released into the atmosphere by the fires.
A total of 1.53 million were recorded worldwide. deaths annually from various causes were linked to air pollution due to wildfires, the research highlighted.
More than 90% of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, with nearly 40% in sub-Saharan Africa.
The countries with the highest number of deaths due to air pollution caused by fires are China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Indonesia and Nigeria.
Climate injustice
The authors of the study call for “immediate action” to address the significant death toll from the fires, highlighting “climate injustice” at the expense of poor countries.
Moreover, measures to avoid wildfire smoke – moving away from the most polluted areas, using air ionizers or masks, staying indoors – are not always accessible to residents of the poorest countries, the researchers pointed out.
Consequently, they called for the provision of greater financial and technological support to the countries most affected by the phenomenon.
Source: RES
