A study found that persistent air pollution is responsible for many stillbirths.
Although air pollution has long been associated with several health issues, it has only recently been calculated that 64,000 stillbirths occur each year, which is an alarming number.
Call to Support Renewable Energy
Over the years, China’s leadership has been pressured to support renewable energy efforts, modernize enterprises, and lessen traffic-related pollution due to the country’s worrying air pollution levels.
The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to caution vulnerable population groups, such as pregnant women, people over 60, and kids under 5, about the dangers and health effects of poor air quality.
An epidemiological study has discovered that exposure to pollutants primarily produced by burning fossil fuels may be to blame for nearly half of stillbirths.
Hazardous air pollution particles were found in fetuses’ lungs and brains, establishing a link between them and stillbirths.
Scientists believe that pollution may interfere with the mother’s ability to provide the fetus with oxygen by altering the placenta and resulting in irreparable developmental harm.
Similar investigations into the relationship between pollution and stillbirths have also been carried out in populations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
But as of right now, Zhu Tong’s study is the only one to pinpoint the precise number of recorded fetal deaths.
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Uncontainable Pollution in China
Despite the air pollution crisis in China, studies also show that the situation has improved over time. Notably, after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese government started significantly reducing pollution throughout the country.
As the city received international attention, worries regarding the impact of air pollution on athlete performance were voiced, and a wave of limitations on polluting activities was implemented.
Since a campaign against smog was launched in 2013, air quality has dramatically improved. Between 2013 and 2017, the air quality in the heavily populated north improved by 35%.
The amount of PM2.5 concentrations, tiny, hazardous airborne particles, dropped from 2015 to 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2016. Even though efforts to minimize air pollutants have shown to have had a large positive impact and have made remarkable progress, air quality continues to be a significant problem.
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