Abstract
Exposure to PM2.5 can seriously endanger public health. Policies for controlling PM2.5 need to consider health hazards under different circumstances. Unlike most studies on the concentration, distribution, and influencing factors of PM2.5, the present study focuses on the impact of PM2.5 on human health. We analysed the spatial-temporal evolution of health impact and economic loss caused by PM2.5 exposure using the log-linear exposure-response function and benefit transfer method. The results indicate that the number of people affected by PM2.5 pollution fluctuated and began to decline after reaching a peak in 2014, benefiting from the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan. Regarding the total economic loss, the temporal pattern continued to rise until 2014 and then declined, with an annual mean of 86,886.94 million USD, accounting for 1.71% of China’s GDP. For the spatial pattern, the health impact and economic loss show a strong spatial correlation and remarkable polarisation phenomena, with high values in East China, North China, Central China, and South China, but low values in Southwest China, Northwest China, and Northeast China. The spatial-temporal characterisation of PM2.5 health hazards is visualised and analysed accordingly, which can provide a reference for more comprehensive and effective policy decisions.
Highlights
Air pollution is the fourth leading cause of death globally, preceded by poor diet, high blood pressure, and smoking risks [1]
The number of hospitalisations for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases does not account for a high proportion of the total health impact, but both are higher than the all-cause mortality
Compared with the baseline concentration of 10 μg/m3, the estimated health impact upon exposure to PM2.5 increased by approximately 28%, and the economic loss increased by approximately 30% when the reference concentration was 0 μg/m3
Summary
Air pollution is the fourth leading cause of death globally, preceded by poor diet, high blood pressure, and smoking risks [1]. PM2.5 is the primary pollutant in the atmosphere and is defined as particulate matter with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 microns in ambient air, consisting mainly of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), nitrate, sulphate, ammonium and sodium salts, etc. Compared with coarser atmospheric particulate matter, PM2.5 has a small particle size, large area, strong activity, is accompanied by toxic and harmful substances, and has a long residence time and long transport distance in the atmosphere, having a greater impact on atmospheric environmental quality and human health. Epidemiological studies have shown that PM2.5 exposure ranks the highest among the environmental risk factors affecting the health of residents [5]. Effective PM2.5 control strategies are the key to achieving sustainable development goals and urban public health all over the world [6,7,8]
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