Air pollution is causing global warming and thereby climate change through a phenomenon called greenhouse effect. This is endangering our physical health and the long-term sustainability of our species. However, the fact air pollution affects our mental health negatively seldom reaches the billboards or news stands
Scientists Knew Air Pollution Affects Our Mental Health for 9 Years
London School of Economics Researcher Sefi Roth stumbled over this in 2011. He was studying the effect of air pollution on physical health, hospital admissions, and mortality at the time. Then nomething made him wonder if it affects our mental health too and he was amazed at what he found.
That was after Sefi Roth correlated London School of Economics examination results with air pollution in the City. “I detected a clear decline in examination performance in significantly polluted days,” he wrote. However, a few days before and after the results were normal, he noted. Nine years later he followed up. He found students who took examinations on polluted days had less successful careers because of lower grades.
Crime Follows the Cloud of Pollution Too
Intrigued, Sefi Roth followed the cloud of air pollution as it swirled through London. He found it correlated strongly with petty crime. A 2018 study across the United Stated detected a similar impact on serious crime.
Subsequent studies have found a number of air pollutants cause inflammation of the brain leading to long term damage. A March 2019 study at Kings College London found teenagers exposed to toxic, polluted air were more likely to have psychotic episodes. Sefi Roth therefore recommends we adjust our behavior according to the pollution index.
That means not attending outdoor sports events on polluted days, and staying away from work when things are really bad. Rising pollution really is everybody’s problem, except for carbon deniers still holding us back.
Related
Reverse Engineering Carbon Pollution Out of the Atmosphere
The Cruise Ship Pollution that Travel Agents Ignore
Preview Image: Air Pollution in Downtown Los Angeles
