The Global Health Cost of Ambient PM2.5 Air Pollution.

This report provides an estimate of the global, regional, and national costs of health damage—that is, premature mortality and morbidity—from exposure to ambient PM2.5 air pollution in 2016. While recognizing the various costs of air pollution to society, this report focuses on the cost of premature mortality and morbidity due to ambient air pollution, the world’s leading environmental health risk. Estimating the health damage of air pollution in monetary terms provides a suitable metric for policy makers and decision-makers in developing countries to prioritize the design and implementation of policies and interventions for controlling ambient air pollution amidst competing development challenges and budgetary and other resource constraints. This report estimates the cost of health damages using the estimates of mortality and morbidity from ambient PM2.5 published in the GBD 2016 study. The GBD assesses mortality and disability from numerous diseases, injuries, and risk factors, including ambient air pollution. Air pollution has long been recognized as a significant environmental health risk. GBD estimates of the global, regional, and national health burden attributable to air pollution, based on nationwide exposures to ambient PM2.5, were published for the first time in the GBD 2010 study then followed by the GBD 2013 and annual publications since the GBD 2015.