A global study has revealed the actual death toll from bushfires exceeds 1.5 million each year.
Led by Professor Yuming Guo, from Monash University in Melbourne, the study is the largest review of the global, regional and national “mortality burden” attributable to air pollution caused by bushfires.
Professor Guo said while 221 direct deaths were reported globally in 2018, the study found more than 1.5 million people died globally from illnesses caused by exposure to bush-fire induced pollution.
He said the research found geographic and socio-economic differences in mortality and a global trend of increasing cardiovascular deaths due to fire pollution.
“The global health burden due to pollution from fire will increase because of the increase in frequency and severity of fires in a warming climate.”
He said of the 1.53 million deaths annually directly attributable to “landscape fire pollution” the researchers found:
- 450,000 cardiovascular deaths.
- 220,000 million respiratory deaths.
- Sub-Saharan Africa had the largest burden, accounting for nearly 40 percent of global deaths.
- Southeast Asia, East Asia and Eastern Europe bore the largest cardiovascular deaths.
- Over 90 percent of bushfire-attributable deaths were in low- and middle-income countries led by China, India, Congo, Indonesia and Nigeria.
- Eastern Europe had the highest cardiovascular deaths caused by bushfires.
- Deaths caused by bushfire were four times higher in low-income countries than high-income countries.
- Lower socio-economic countries were more likely to have higher deaths from respiratory illness caused by fires than higher socio-economic countries.
- The global cardiovascular deaths due to fire pollution increased by an average 1.67 per cent per year.
“The study reveals for the first time the actual health risks from bush fires, particularly fine particulate matter and ozone.
“They often travel hundreds and even thousands of kilometres away and affect much larger populations than flames and heat do,” Professor Guo said.
Explore the research: Global, regional, and national mortality burden attributable to air pollution from landscape fires: a health impact assessment study.
