Mean annual population-weighted exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, in micrograms per cubic metre, averaged across the world's population. PM2.5 is a leading environmental risk factor for premature death, so lower exposure is a direct public-welfare gain.
How to read it
Lower is better — readings above the norm count as worse, so they plot downward here.
Measured value over time. Its norm (5.0 micrograms per cubic metre (annual mean, population-weighted)) is far off this scale, so the series stays worse than norm throughout — the deviation badge shows the gap.
Each driver linked to this indicator, strongest pull first, on the same timeline above. Markers are the facts that moved that driver. These are modelled influences — treat them as correlational unless a documented causal edge is shown.
Decarbonization (coal phase-out, clean energy) co-reduces fossil combustion that drives PM2.5, lowering population-weighted exposure with a lag, though air quality also depends on local pollution controls.
Replacing coal and gas combustion with renewables reduces fine-particulate (PM2.5) air pollution, lowering population-weighted exposure.
Cheaper subsidized fossil fuels sustain combustion in power, transport and heating, raising PM2.5 air-pollution exposure.
Clearance fires in tropical forests (e.g. Amazon burning seasons) generate large regional smoke plumes that raise PM2.5 exposure for affected populations.
This indicator’s slice of Factrail’s verified causal web — the people, facts, drivers and welfare indicators it connects to. Select any node to trace a path.
Loading network…
Mean annual population-weighted exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution, in micrograms per cubic metre, averaged across the world's population. PM2.5 is a leading environmental risk factor for premature death, so lower exposure is a direct public-welfare gain.