The Cyprus Institute along with the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health (CII) at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the King Saud University in Saudi Arabia published a joint research article in the journal Nature, which is the world’s most highly cited interdisciplinary science journal (impact factor 42.35) on the contribution of air pollution to premature mortality, worldwide. The team leaders Jos Lelieveld and John Evans estimated that air pollution (particulate particles of diameter less than 2.5 microns-PM2.5) created 3.3 million excess premature deaths mainly due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases worldwide, particularly in Asia. In Europe, most of the particulate matter PM2.5 air emissions were due to agricultural activities. The model calculated the doubling of the number of premature deaths from air pollution (PM2.5) by 2050. They also presented data highlighting the significant contribution of natural dust storms to increased levels of premature mortality in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, such as in Egypt. The article enjoys wide media coverage in global news media, as in Associated Press and others.

For more information, please consult CII professor, John Evans: jevans@hsph.harvard.edu

Lelieveld, J., J. S. Evans, M. Fnais, D. Giannadaki & A. Pozzer, 2015. The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale. Nature, 525, 367–371, doi:10.1038/nature15371.