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MOSCOW, June 19Air pollution became the second leading risk factor for premature mortality after hypertension in 2021, according to the State of the World's Air 2024 report, presented by the Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The document provides data on air quality and its impact on human health around the world. According to the study, air pollution led to the death of 8.1 million people in 2021 (about 12 percent of all deaths). Of these, more than 700,000 deaths occurred among children under five years of age (15 percent of all deaths in this age group), of which more than 500,000 were associated with indoor air pollution. 
Poor air quality is the second leading risk factor for premature death. High blood pressure is first, smoking is third, malnutrition is fourth, and high fasting plasma glucose is fifth. Among the risk factors for death in children under five, air pollution is also the second leading risk factor after malnutrition.
According to scientists, air pollution was the cause of 30 percent of deaths from lower respiratory tract infections, 28 percent from coronary heart disease, and 48 percent from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Researchers point out that air pollution reduces the immune system’s ability to fight infection, making it easier for viruses that cause respiratory infections, including COVID-19, to enter the body.