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Fortunately, the global suicide rate is on the decline. However, it could drop even faster if the residents of Earth move away from fossil fuels.
A team of researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara, has discovered an innovative way to investigate the suspected link between air pollution and suicide rates. The findings not only confirmed that this connection is real but also revealed that it is more striking than previously anticipated.
What Scientists Learned
Researchers have long been aware of the connection between atmospheric pollution and poor physical health. However, in recent years, they have found evidence that dirty air is also detrimental to our mental well-being. Specifically, it contributes to an increase in suicide rates.
According to Dr. Tamara Carlton, the lead author of the study, the team’s goal was to determine the role of air pollution in suicide statistics. Along with her colleagues, she examined periods when pollution levels (measured by PM 2.5 particles, which are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller) rose without changes in other factors due to temperature inversions. These inversions occur when a layer of warm air traps cold air beneath it, preventing pollutants from dispersing and causing local accumulation. Some cities are particularly prone to such inversions due to surrounding hills, as reported by IFLScience.
Using data on sharp increases in pollution collected in China from 2000 to 2019, the team found that suicide rates rose by approximately 25 percent. “The number of suicides significantly increases in the context of heightened air pollution,” the scientists reported.
This connection was most pronounced among elderly women, who experienced a 2.5-fold increase in health issues compared to the rest of the population.
Suicide as a Consequence of Poor Environmental Policy
Dr. Carlton became interested in this issue after researching the impact of extreme heat on rising suicide rates in India. This was one of the most alarming findings in the context of global warming.
Interestingly, she discovered that the global suicide rate is declining despite rising temperatures. In China, the rate is dropping faster than anywhere else. This is largely attributed to reduced air pollution in Chinese cities, thanks to the transition from old coal energy sources to renewables. Additionally, electric vehicles are gaining popularity in the country, and the use of gasoline and diesel-powered cars may soon become a thing of the past.
“Thirty years of warming in India have led to approximately the same scale of suicides as five years of fighting air pollution in China,” Dr. Carlton noted. However, she emphasized that 90 percent of suicides cannot be explained by environmental pollution.
“We often think of suicide and mental health as issues that need to be addressed on an individual level. However, the results of this study highlight the important role of government policy and environmental policy in mitigating mental health crises and reducing suicide rates,” the scientist stated.
The study’s findings were published in the journal Nature Sustainability.
