Exposure Assessment for
Estimation of the Global Burden of Disease Attributable to Outdoor
Air Pollution
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Abstract
Ambient air pollution is associated with numerous adverse
health impacts. Previous assessments of global attributable disease
burden have been limited to urban areas or by coarse spatial resolution
of concentration estimates. Recent developments in remote sensing,
global chemical-transport models, and improvements in coverage of
surface measurements facilitate virtually complete spatially resolved
global air pollutant concentration estimates. We combined these data
to generate global estimates of long-term average ambient concentrations
of fine particles (PM<sub>2.5</sub>) and ozone at 0.1° ×
0.1° spatial resolution for 1990 and 2005. In 2005, 89% of the
world’s population lived in areas where the World Health Organization
Air Quality Guideline of 10 μg/m<sup>3</sup> PM<sub>2.5</sub> (annual average) was exceeded. Globally, 32% of the population lived
in areas exceeding the WHO Level 1 Interim Target of 35 μg/m<sup>3</sup>, driven by high proportions in East (76%) and South (26%)
Asia. The highest seasonal ozone levels were found in North and Latin
America, Europe, South and East Asia, and parts of Africa. Between
1990 and 2005 a 6% increase in global population-weighted PM<sub>2.5</sub> and a 1% decrease in global population-weighted ozone concentrations
was apparent, highlighted by increased concentrations in East, South,
and Southeast Asia and decreases in North America and Europe. Combined
with spatially resolved population distributions, these estimates
expand the evaluation of the global health burden associated with
outdoor air pollution