Beyond Air Pollution and Climate Change: The Immediate Human Health Benefits of Slashing Urban Emissions

The connection between climate change and health has never been clearer. Heatwaves, worsening air quality, shifting behavior patterns, and pressure on health systems are already shaping daily life. But within these challenges lies both a revelation and a powerful opportunity. The same actions that reduce emissions can immediately improve health, especially in settings where people are exposed to multiple risks simultaneously. This is the essence of mitigation’s double benefit - protecting the planet over the long term while simultaneously improving public health outcomes in the present.

Shared Sources Create Shared Health Gains

Fossil fuels are at the heart of both problems and their extraction, with processing and combustion both being major pollutant sources. A PubMed Central study also shows that cutting fossil-fuel use means cutting greenhouse gases and the particulate matter that harms human health.

A noted expert in her field, Dr Poornima Prabhakaran, Deputy Director & Head - Environmental Health & Senior Research Scientist at Centre for Chronic Disease Control shares that known climate pollutants and health-damaging air pollutants often originate from the same place.

“In India, this vulnerability is acutely felt. Delhi and several other metro cities are often vulnerable to diverse pollutant sources emanating from fossil-fuel dependent industrial activities, transport-related pollutants, construction and demolition-related dust pollution and from the common practice of waste burning for warmth especially during winters,” says Dr Prabhakaran.

During severe air pollution episodes, particularly exacerbated by lower winter temperatures and changes in other meteorological conditions, harmful particulate matter is efficiently carried deep into the lungs. This is evident in the rising footfall of patients, adults and children alike, in hospitals and clinics. Therefore, reducing emissions in such settings can translate quickly into relief for populations already struggling with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

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Air Pollution In Asian Countries: Data Analysis

The same pattern is seen in other regions in Asia, with only pollutant sources differing from region to region. China’s significant reduction in PM2.5 over the past decade provides a compelling model, showing how mitigation and public health improvement can move together. A MDPI study shows that the actions taken by China are estimated to have prevented more than 2,14,000 premature deaths annually. This shows that when policies target the sources of emissions, both climate and health indicators can be addressed.

Air pollution is not just an urban issue. Clean cooking remains a major challenge across many regions. Here are some brief pointers as shared by Dr Prabhakaran:

• Emissions from traditional household fuels create a continuous exposure cycle, particularly affecting women who spend long hours cooking indoors.
• 2.3 billion people, primarily in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), still rely on solid fuels like wood and charcoal for cooking, releasing harmful household air pollution.
• The transition to cleaner cooking is both a mitigation measure and an immediate health intervention, as reducing reliance on polluting cooking fuels can offer substantial benefits.

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“While there are existing efforts to promote and facilitate this transition through provision of cleaner options, there is much more that can be addressed to ensure both adherence, continuity of access and use besides health-centric narratives for behaviour change amongst the primary beneficiaries,” adds Dr Prabhakaran.

Climate Change and Air Pollution Link

Heat adds another layer of complexity. Rising temperatures are already altering how people live and behave - affecting mobility, outdoor activity, and daily activity and work patterns. Heat also intersects with existing chronic diseases, worsening symptoms and creating new vulnerabilities particularly with co-existent environmental risks. Even modest reductions in extreme heat can ease pressure on individuals and on health systems.

As per Dr Prabhakaran, “LMICs feel this overlap more sharply. High exposure to pollution and heat, combined with limited healthcare access and a heavy chronic disease burden, means populations are managing multiple stressors at the same time. In such settings, the health and economic benefits of mitigation are amplified and often felt more immediately. Often, mitigation measures must be closely linked with social issues, particularly livelihoods. This is because the majority of those exposed and most vulnerable work in occupations that involve prolonged, detrimental outdoor exposure.”

Strengthening Health Systems for a Changing Climate

Climate change is already testing the resilience of health systems. Strengthening facilities, ensuring reliable infrastructure, equipping the health workforce, and improving data systems are central to building climate-resilient healthcare. These actions can help systems continue functioning during extreme weather events, heatwaves, and other climate pressures.
Surveillance systems also need to keep pace. Climate-linked conditions range from vector-borne diseases to heat- and air pollution–related illnesses. Recognizing these patterns early can help health systems prepare and respond better.

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At the same time, health systems themselves contribute to emissions and have their own climate footprint by virtue of their use of resources and service delivery.. The move toward climate-smart and sustainable healthcare can help reduce this footprint through cleaner energy, better procurement practices, greener infrastructure, waste reduction, and overall improved efficiency.

Some examples already exist. Solarizing primary healthcare centres can reduce dependence on fossil fuels and ensure uninterrupted service during extreme weather disruptions. Even partial transitions to renewable energy sources can strengthen systems and ensure continuity of care while lowering emissions.

Co-Benefits, Communication, and Shared Responsibility

“Mitigation is often framed as something that benefits future generations. But the co-benefits approach highlights immediate improvements in air quality, health outcomes, productivity, mobility, and wellbeing,” highlights Dr Prabhakaran.

Crucially, when climate action leads to cleaner air, safer environments, and fewer diseases, it creates a positive feedback loop, making it easier for communities and governments to stay committed to better population health, especially when progress is uneven or slow.

Because climate and health are cross-cutting issues, solutions cannot come from one sector alone. Energy, transport, housing, health, and local governance must work together. Top-down reforms need to meet bottom-up responses from communities. Local behavior, community awareness, and accessible communication strategies are also essential.

Dr Prabhakaran concludes by saying, “People often hear about climate impacts - temperature rise, pollution, extreme events - but the pathway from these impacts to personal health is not always clear. Better communication can help populations understand why certain policies matter and how they lead to better outcomes in their own lives. Mitigation is not merely a climate imperative. It is the most powerful, immediate, and people-centred public health strategy we have.”