Table of Contents
What is Air Pollution?
Air pollution is a type of environmental polluting which contaminates the air and affects air quality. Usual contaminants are soot, smoke and harmful gases such as oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur. These contaminates are mostly by products of digging of burning fossil fuels, agricultural activities and using vehicles that use petrol or diesel. There are many consequences to using products that affect the environment including depletion of the o-zone layer, global warming and the physical, intellectual, emotional and social effect on humans.
How Does Air Pollution Affect Physical Wellbeing?
In 2016 the royal college of physicians and the royal college of paediatricians and child health released their scientific study of air pollution and is states it kills over 40,000 a year in the UK. The study showed how exceeded air pollution levels have a detrimental effect on all the life stages including foetuses in the womb. Breathing in the toxic particles in the air puts at higher risk of developing asthma and respiratory diseases and infections.
The study also found in areas where pollution is rife breathing in the oxygen for just 6 hours showed a significant decrease in lung function as well as this prolonged exposure to certain carcinogens can put you at risk for developing certain cancers. Usually people living in very populated areas are also living with extreme air quality and have to deal with the effects of that, unfortunately these people are most likely the poorest of society, in the UK we have the NHS were all our medical care is free however in poorer countries healthcare is extremely expensive and death rates caused by pollution are higher due to healthcare being inaccessible.
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How does Air Pollution Affect Intellectual Wellbeing?
The WHO (World Health Organisation) has shown that 93% of children under 15 breath in enough pollution to affect their physical health and their intellectual/cognitive abilities, this shows that pollution is able to affect the brain and its neurodevelopment. One common particle found in polluted air is PM2.5 and has shown it can structurally alter the cerebral cortex, the cerebral cortex is responsible for impulse control and plays a role in people’s cognitive ability. A study done in America showed that children who go to school in areas of high pollution perform worse on cognitive tests and that they have worse impulse control than their peers, a consequence of this is an increased chance of developing addictions and mental health conditions.
How does Air Pollution Affect Emotional Wellbeing?
Due to ever worsening air quality, scientific organisations have been investigating the correlation between the rise in people developing mental health conditions. These organisations have found a significant connection between the two. Some mental health conditions developed or exasperated due to air pollution include anxiety, changes in mood, depression and mental health diseases such as Alzheimer’s. These conditions can also be developed through the physical effects of air quality such as developing a severe respiratory infection or asthma, a person could be in and out of hospital which could affect their social and emotional wellbeing.
