Effects of air pollution on health
Air pollution is a proven cause of illness and premature death. The greatest danger comes from excessive exposure to particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen oxides.
With every breath we take, gases such as nitrogen dioxide and ozone, as well as a large number of fine particles, enter our airways and lungs. They are deposited in the bronchi and alveoli, where they can have short- or long-term effects on health.
The smaller the particles, the deeper they penetrate into the lungs. Excessive exposure to pollutants leads to an increase in respiratory symptoms and diseases in children and adults, e.g. attacks of breathlessness, chronic coughing and phlegm, bronchitis and chronic bronchitis, and respiratory tract infections.
Air pollution is an additional burden for people who are already ill. The higher the level of pollutants in the air (e.g. on busy roads), the shorter the symptom-free periods. Polluted air leads to a reduction in average lung capacity and to an increase in emergency consultations and hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases.
The Documentation Centre for Air and Health (LUDOK), which has been funded by the FOEN until 2025 and based at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, has worked with other supporting organisations such as the Cancer League, Lunge Zürich and the cantonal authorities for air pollution control to compile the health effects of the most important pollutants in outdoor air and present them in an interactive graphic.
Swiss TPH: Interactive figure health effects and ambient air
Air pollution shortens life expectancy due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, including lung cancer. In Switzerland, air pollution is estimated to cause around 2,000 premature deaths each year. In addition, air pollution causes thousands of extra cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dementia, type 2 diabetes, ischaemic heart disease and lung cancer each year. The external costs due to health effects of air pollution in Switzerland amount to billions each year.
In Switzerland, the long-term effects of air pollution on health are being investigated in the SAPALDIA (Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults) cohort study. However, this and other studies also show that the health of children and adults improves relatively quickly when the level of pollutants in the air decreases. Measures to improve air quality therefore have a measurable positive impact on public health.
Data
Indicator Health problems caused by air pollution (PM2.5)