Breathing dirty air can cause you to have nausea. But, according to new research, it can also make you more aggressive. To such conclusion scientists from the University of Colorado. The team found a link between short-term exposure to contaminated air and aggressive human behavior, such as aggravated assaults and other violent crimes. A study published in the journal of Environmental Economics and Management.
Violent crimes are probably a consequence of air pollution
How dirty air affects a person?
We have repeatedly written about the fact that air pollution is a serious problem worldwide. According to estimates, air pollution causes the death of about 5.5 million people every year. Moreover, the correlation between dirty air and the occurrence of mental illness in children and a reduction in overall life expectancy worldwide. The fact that the air in most cities contains a large amount of harmful substances — methane, ozone, carbon dioxide etc.
Scientists discovered that the inhalation of polluted air not only contributes to the development of diseases such as emphysema, but can also make a person more aggressive. The results were obtained after analysis of daily crime statistics to the Federal Bureau of investigation (FBI), and also after studying the detailed daily map of air pollution in the United States for eight years.
So air pollution looks like in India
The researchers note that it is not just about physical violence. Polluted air in General makes people aggressive, and this means that people are more prone to quarrels and verbal abuse. Thus, the dirty air substantially sharpens a variety of situations.
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Where most crimes occur?
For the study, researchers conducted a cross-analysis of three very detailed sets of data: daily reports of crimes committed; daily data on air pollution from 2006-2013 and daily data accumulations of smoke from fires, which can be seen on satellite images. According to the researchers, 83% of crimes that the FBI considers “violent”, were classed as assault in the criminal databases. In the course of the study, the researchers observed where the crimes were committed on the street or indoors.
The results of the study are alarming, isn’t it?
The results of the study showed that 56% of violent crimes and 60% of the assaults occurred indoors. Also, in the days with the highest air pollution the number of violent crimes increased by 1.4%. Almost all crimes were classified as attacks. In the course of the study it was also found that increasing the exposure to such substances as ozone, was associated with an increase in violent crime by 0.97% or an increase of attacks by 1.15%.
The specialists say that the changes in measurements on air pollution had a statistically significant impact on other categories of crimes. The authors do not claim that correlation is proof that exposure to dirty air leads to aggression. The results of the study revealed a correlation between violent crime and air pollution, experts say.