How biomass fires increase infant mortality globally
Global outdoor biomass burning is a major contributor to air pollution, especially in low and middle-income countries. Recent years have witnessed substantial changes in the extent of biomass burning, including large declines in Africa.
However, direct evidence on the contribution of biomass burning to global health outcomes remains limited.
We use georeferenced data on more than two million births matched to satellite-derived burned area exposure to estimate the burden of biomass fires on infant mortality.
We find that each additional square kilometre of burning increases infant mortality in nearby downwind locations by more than two per cent.
The share of infant deaths attributable to biomass fires has increased over time due to the rapid decline in other important causes of infant death.
Applying our model estimates across newly harmonised district-level data covering 98 per cent of global infant deaths, we find that exposure to outdoor biomass burning resulted in nearly 130,000 additional infant deaths per year globally over our 2004-2018 study period.
Despite the observed decline in biomass burning in Africa, nearly 75 per cent of global infant deaths due to burning still occur in Africa.
While fully eliminating biomass burning is unlikely, we estimate that even achievable reductions – equivalent to the lowest observed annual burning in each location during our study period – would have avoided more than 70,000 infant deaths per year globally since 2004.
Speaker Profile
Dr Hemant Pullabhotla, Lecturer, Economics, Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University
Dr Pullabhotla is a Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Deakin University. His work focuses on the intersection of agriculture, development, and environmental economics. Dr Pullabhotla's research interests include evaluating the economic and health impacts of environmental pollution, understanding drivers of technology adoption in low-income contexts, and assessing the effects of natural disasters. Before joining Deakin University, Dr Pullabhotla was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center on Food Security and the Environment (FSE), Stanford University, working with the ECHO: Environmental Change and Human Outcomes Lab and the Lobell lab. He received his PhD from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact shannon.stanwell@monash.edu
Event Details
- Date:
- 1 March 2023 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Venue:
- In-person at Caulfield campus, Building H, Level 8, Room H8.13
- Categories:
- CHE Seminar; Health Economics
Description
Global outdoor biomass burning is a major contributor to air pollution, especially in low and middle-income countries. Recent years have witnessed substantial changes in the extent of biomass burning, including large declines in Africa.
However, direct evidence on the contribution of biomass burning to global health outcomes remains limited.
We use georeferenced data on more than two million births matched to satellite-derived burned area exposure to estimate the burden of biomass fires on infant mortality.
We find that each additional square kilometre of burning increases infant mortality in nearby downwind locations by more than two per cent.
The share of infant deaths attributable to biomass fires has increased over time due to the rapid decline in other important causes of infant death.
Applying our model estimates across newly harmonised district-level data covering 98 per cent of global infant deaths, we find that exposure to outdoor biomass burning resulted in nearly 130,000 additional infant deaths per year globally over our 2004-2018 study period.
Despite the observed decline in biomass burning in Africa, nearly 75 per cent of global infant deaths due to burning still occur in Africa.
While fully eliminating biomass burning is unlikely, we estimate that even achievable reductions – equivalent to the lowest observed annual burning in each location during our study period – would have avoided more than 70,000 infant deaths per year globally since 2004.
Speaker Profile
Dr Hemant Pullabhotla, Lecturer, Economics, Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University
Dr Pullabhotla is a Lecturer in the Department of Economics at Deakin University. His work focuses on the intersection of agriculture, development, and environmental economics. Dr Pullabhotla's research interests include evaluating the economic and health impacts of environmental pollution, understanding drivers of technology adoption in low-income contexts, and assessing the effects of natural disasters. Before joining Deakin University, Dr Pullabhotla was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center on Food Security and the Environment (FSE), Stanford University, working with the ECHO: Environmental Change and Human Outcomes Lab and the Lobell lab. He received his PhD from the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact shannon.stanwell@monash.edu