The impact was more significant in low-income regions, in particular North Africa, the Middle East, and East and South Asia, where DLE reached 1.56 years. Worldwide, PM2.5 was estimated to be responsible for an average DLE of 1.03 years in 2016. In Hong Kong, the same increase in PM2.5 was associated with a 2.35% increase in the daily death count. In the Netherlands, a PM2.5 concentration increase of 10В Ојg/m 3 relative to the previous day was correlated with a 0.8% risk increase in all-cause mortality.

There are several studies quantify the relation between exposure to PM2.5 and DLE. Similarly, PM2.5 health impacts also lead to DLE. In the case of smoking, existing studies estimate a decrease in life expectancy (DLE) of 11вЂ“15В min per cigarette. Many of these health impacts, which mostly affect the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, are similar to the effects of smoking tobacco, , ]. In 2015, in China, 15.5% of all deaths and 32% of the deaths in major Chinese cities were linked to exposure to PM2.5. In 2019, air pollution, comprised mostly of PM2.5, was found to be responsible for nearly 800 thousand deaths per year in Europe (more than double the death rate estimated in 2015 ). Ultimately, PM2.5 has been identified as the cause of a significant number of deaths in different regions of the world. In addition to a reduction in fertility rates, due to lower sperm quality and fecundability, transport through the bloodstream in pregnant women can reach the fetus, leading to congenital disease and preterm births. The negative effects of PM2.5 occur even before birth. Other health effects of PM2.5 exposure include diabetes, allergic conjunctivitis, neurological disorders, obesity and mood depression. Upon reaching the pulmonary alveoli, PM2.5 can enter the bloodstream and increase the incidence of high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes. PM2.5 has been linked with acute pulmonary infection, acute and chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, asthma and lung cancer. Exposure along the respiratory tract triggers inflammatory responses and reduces immunity to several diseases. PM2.5 contacts and enters the human body via air that flows into the respiratory tract and reaches the pulmonary alveoli. Human exposure to PM2.5 results in an array of negative health effects with significant societal impact. This paper analyses the health impact of using NV in workspaces located in large, polluted, urban environments, and the consequent decreased life expectancy (DLE). Unfortunately, in many cases, this natural option may be unhealthy due to increased exposure to outdoor pollutants.

In most modern indoor work environments located in large cities there is a growing demand for natural ventilation (NV) use. There is ample evidence of penetration into the bloodstream and consequent widespread effects on the human body. In the case of fine particle air pollution, the small size of the pollutant means that its effects go beyond inflammatory reactions in the lungs. In contrast, human exposure to air pollution is a recent threat that humans cannot handle. During the last two hundred thousand years, the human body evolved to effectively fight the threat of infections. The outdoor PM2.5 that is present in all urban environments is predominantly man-made and often exceeds the safety limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The results also show that using an electrostatic particle filter in the NV building faГ§ade openings, with an efficiency of 60%, can significantly decrease PM2.5 exposure and DLE and allow for safe NV use. In New Delhi, using NV leads to a DLE effect that is comparable to smoking one cigarette per hour. Further, for each hour of NV use, life expectancy decreases by up to 2В min (for Californian and European cities) and three to 6В min in Shanghai and Beijing. Results show that, for a typical life span of a worker, replacing a traditional HVAC system with NV during the mild temperature hours of the day results in a DLE of 1.2вЂ“7.3 months. This paper presents a building thermal and airflow simulation study of DLE due to exposure to outdoor PM2.5 in NV workspaces in several urban locations around the globe. In this context, using natural ventilation (NV) in urban indoor workspaces results in unhealthy increases in occupant exposure to outdoor PM2.5. Yet, the outdoor PM2.5 levels found in most urban environments exceed the safety limits set by the World Health Organization. PM2.5 has significant health effects that lead to decreased life expectancy (DLE).

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