Monitoring data in China shows that suicide rates increase as air quality decreases, and the country’s air pollution reduction plan has prevented tens of thousands of suicides in just a few years.
A new study based on data collected from 1,400 air monitoring stations in China reveals that suicide rates in the country rise as air quality declines. Thanks to a nationwide plan initiated by the government to reduce air pollution, tens of thousands of suicides have been averted in just a few years.
China has several of the most polluted cities in the world, shrouded in thick smog that millions of urban residents must breathe every day.
Air pollution is a serious issue in China. (Image: d3sign/Getty Images).
Approximately 16% of the world’s total suicides occur in China. In recent years, this rate has significantly decreased due to various factors, including rising incomes and cultural shifts.
Nevertheless, a study conducted by a group of economists, which analyzed both air quality data and reports on suicide rates, has clearly demonstrated the strong link between poor air quality and suicide rates in the country.
In 2013, China faced a “daunting task of controlling air pollution”, leading the government to implement the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan. This plan aimed to limit industrial pollution sources, manage vehicle emissions, promote a transition from coal to natural gas for heating, and encourage a shift to wind and solar energy.
These measures have resulted in significant improvements in air quality across China.
During this time, the national suicide rate also saw a notable decline. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that from 2010 to 2021, the annual suicide rate fell from 10.88 to 5.25 per 100,000 people.
Economist Peng Zhang at Huazhong University and his colleagues leveraged these prominent trends to investigate whether it was possible to isolate the effects of air pollution on suicide risk from other related factors.
They meticulously searched and reviewed weekly air quality data and delved into the meteorological phenomenon known as temperature inversion, which traps near-surface air pollution under a layer of warmer air above.
The scientists found that this inversion often lasts only a few hours but can increase the weekly average concentration of fine particulate matter in the air by about 1%.
Previous studies have also discovered that these fine particles can travel directly to the brain, altering brain chemistry within 24 hours, leading to mental health deterioration and potentially weakening emotional regulation over the long term.
The researchers observed a clear increase in suicide rates within a week following a temperature inversion event, but this effect did not extend beyond 7 days. The research report states: “These are additional suicides, meaning deaths that would not have occurred if air quality had not deteriorated.”
Fortunately, due to improved air quality, the suicide trend in China has also decreased by about 10% recently.
The researchers estimate that from 2013 to 2017, thanks to efforts to clear the skies, China prevented nearly 46,000 deaths by suicide. The research report states: “Although many questions remain regarding the relationship between air quality, mental health, and suicide, this analysis calls for global pollution control policies.”
This study is limited to China and only demonstrates the correlation between unclean air and suicide rates, but we should all pay attention to these research findings as no place on Earth can consistently maintain air quality at safe levels anymore.
