Childhood Air Pollution Burden

Air pollution is the second deadliest risk for children under five globally, causing over 709,000 deaths in 2021. Children are more vulnerable due to developing immune systems and higher breathing rates. The burden is heavily skewed by economic disparity, with children in the least-developed countries facing death rates 94 times higher than those in the most-developed nations. The document highlights how structural lock-ins to fossil fuels and polluting land-use practices drive this crisis, noting that less than 1% of fossil fuel subsidies were spent on outdoor air quality between 2018 and 2022. Case studies in South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria, and Bangladesh illustrate the specific drivers—such as coal power, biomass burning, brick kilns, and oil extraction—that contribute to high child mortality and lifelong developmental impairments.

• Air pollution is a critical global health threat for young children, ranking as the second deadliest risk for those under five. In 2021, it caused 15% of all deaths in this age group and was responsible for over 709,000 deaths, which is nearly 9% of all global air pollution deaths.
• Children under five experience a significantly higher burden of disease and mortality from air pollution than adults. They die from air pollution-related causes at nearly six times the rate of working-age adults (20-54 years), and their disability-adjusted life years (DALY) burden is more than three times the rate of the general population.
• Air pollution exposure begins before birth and leads to lifelong health complications. Maternal exposure is linked to low birth weight, preterm birth, and being small for gestational age, which are causally connected to chronic adult diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and coronary heart disease.
• There is a profound geographic and socioeconomic disparity in air pollution deaths. Children under five in the world's least-developed countries have death rates 94 times higher than those in the most-developed nations, with 1,005 deaths per day compared to three.
• Global financial investment in air quality is negligible compared to fossil fuel subsidies. Between 2018 and 2022, the annual global spend to tackle outdoor air quality averaged USD 3.16 billion, which is less than 1% of the USD 593 billion spent annually on fossil fuel consumption subsidies.
• In South Africa, coal-fired power generation is the primary driver of air pollution, contributing to an estimated 1,300 premature deaths among children under five in 2023 and approximately 47,000 underweight births annually.
• Brazil's child health is severely impacted by wildfires and biomass burning linked to industrial agriculture (beef and soy). In September 2024, São Paulo saw an approximately 77% increase in children hospitalised for respiratory conditions.
• In Bangladesh, air pollution is driven by household solid-fuel cooking and industrial brick kilns. Mothers using high-polluting cooking fuels were 2.6 times more likely to have low birth weight babies, and children aged 3-5 exposed to solid fuels were 47% more likely to have developmental delays.
• Nigeria's air pollution burden is linked to oil extraction, gas flaring, and a lack of clean cooking. Gas flaring increases cough incidence by 22% in children, while solid fuel use for cooking is linked to 43% of post-neonatal deaths (1-11 months).

APA

Team, Z. (2025). Childhood Air Pollution Burden. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/childhood-air-pollution-burden/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. Childhood Air Pollution Burden. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2025. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/childhood-air-pollution-burden/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=Childhood Air Pollution Burden |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=14 October 2025 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/childhood-air-pollution-burden/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2025childhood, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{Childhood Air Pollution Burden}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/insights/briefings/childhood-air-pollution-burden/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }