Premature deaths

The number of studies linking particulate matter pollution to increased mortality is growing significantly. What almost all of them have in common is that even low PM2.5 levels lead to premature deaths.

Studies have found that the mortality rate increases even when pollution levels do not exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) limits (the limits in Switzerland for PM2.5 are twice as high as those of the WHO). It does not matter whether you are exposed to particle pollution in the short or long term. 

The source of the particle pollution also plays a role. Burning wood proves to be particularly dangerous.

…In vitro toxicity studies suggest that not all particles are the same. For example, wood smoke particles cause greater oxidative damage to human umbilical endothelial cells and stimulate increased monocyte adhesion compared to diesel particles.

J. Grigg. Arrhythmias and particulate matter, commentary in The Lancet, 2017.

In Europe alone, around 60,000 people die prematurely every year due to air pollution from burning solid fuels – mostly wood. Study

Another example: the burning of wood in private households leads to 78 premature deaths per year in Copenhagen. In Oslo to 232.

Researchers estimate that a similar number of people in the Australian Capital Territory die prematurely each year from PM2.5 emissions from wood-burning stoves as from the extreme smoke pollution caused by the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires

On the other hand, the mortality rate also decreases if pollution from wood burning is reduced

An  experiment:The Australian city of Launceston ran a program to reduce wood smoke by encouraging residents to switch from wood-burning stoves to electric heaters. During the winter, the number of deaths from respiratory diseases fell by 28% and those from cardiovascular diseases by 20%. For men, the reduction throughout the year was 23 % (respiratory diseases), 18 % (cardiovascular diseases) and 11.4 % (all deaths).