Is human-caused air pollution responsible for more than five times as many deaths as homicide in the United States?

100,000 deaths annually are attributable to domestic anthropogenic emissions of PM2.5 pollutants, five times the homicide deaths in the United States in 2024.

Including other pollutants such as ozone, the number of attributable deaths doubles.

PM2.5 are particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less – 30 times smaller than the average human hair width – capable of penetrating lung barriers and entering the blood system. Half of PM2.5 deaths are attributable to fossil fuel combustion. 

Studies estimate that fossil fuel combustion alone is responsible for 3.6 million to 8.7 million premature deaths globally – six to 15 times the death toll of all murders, wars, and terrorist attacks in 2021. 

Recent studies found stronger relationships between pollution exposure and health consequences such as heart disease, chronic respiratory disease, and stroke – three of the leading causes of death in Oklahoma – together responsible for 68 % of air pollution mortality.