Stronger policy required to substantially reduce deaths from PM<sub>2.5</sub> pollution in China.
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32193475.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-15319-4 and PMC identifier 7081205.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Air pollution kills nearly 1 million people per year in China. In response, the Chinese government implemented the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) from 2013 to 2017 which had a significant impact on reducing PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration. However, the health benefits of the APPCAP are not well understood. Here we examine the spatiotemporal dynamics of annual deaths attributable to PM<sub>2.5</sub> pollution (DAPP) in China and the contribution from the APPCAP using decomposition analysis. Despite a 36.1% increase in DAPP from 2000 to 2017, The APPCAP-induced improvement in air quality achieved substantial health benefits, with the DAPP in 2017 reduced by 64 thousand (6.8%) compared to 2013. However, the policy is unlikely to result in further major reductions in DAPP and more ambitious policies are required to reduce the health impacts of air pollution by 2030 and meet the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 3.
Medical subject headings
- Air Pollution
- Death
- Particulate Matter
- Policy