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New State of Global Air 2025 report shows nearly nine in ten global air pollution deaths are from noncommunicable diseases
2025
Air pollution continues to exacerbate global health, including noncommunicable diseases, according to the sixth edition of the State of Global Air (SoGA) report released today. Air pollution remains the leading environmental risk factor for death around the world, contributing to 7.9 million deaths in 2023, with the largest health impacts seen in low- and middle-income countries where people have higher exposures and more limited access to healthcare and other services.
The report finds that of those 7.9 million deaths, 6.8 million (86%) were from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Beyond this, NCDs also account for 161 million healthy years of life lost in 2023. This results in high healthcare use, increased hospital admissions and the need for emergency medical care, loss of productivity and income, and mental health and other burdens for affected individuals, their caregivers, and families. The State of Global Air 2025 report was released by the Health Effects Institute in collaboration with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and NCD Alliance.
Now in its sixth iteration, the latest State of Global Air report presents information on exposures to outdoor and household air pollution and associated adverse health impacts from a variety of pollutants, including fine particles or PM2.5 (ambient and household particulate matter), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone.
This year, for the first time, the SoGA report includes information about the effects of air pollution on people living with dementia. In 2023, dementia related to air pollution resulted in more than 625,000 deaths around the world and nearly 12 million healthy years of life lost.
Key findings from the report include:
- 36% of the world's population is exposed to levels of PM2.5 pollution above the least stringent interim target of 35 μg/m3.
- About 1/3 - almost 2.6 billion people - are exposed to pollution from burning solid fuels for cooking at home.
- 95% of air pollution attributable deaths in adults over the age of 60 are due to noncommunicable diseases like COPD, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, and lung disease.
For questions, please contact us contactsoga@healtheffects.org
Media Contact: Tom Champoux, tchampoux@healtheffects.org
Read the full State of Global Air Report here
Note that the change in numbers in each SoGA report is due to improvements in the accuracy of scientific methods and modeling. The overall message remains that exposure to air pollution is resulting in millions of deaths each year.
Join Us For A Webinar to Learn More About Key Findings
Date: Friday, October 31, 2025
Time: 08:00 AM EDT/ 12PM GMT
Location: Online - Zoom
