The rights to environmental and human health and wellbeing: just breathing?

Improved scientific understanding of human-environment interactions has led to a growing appreciation of humanity's and the planet's reliance on a healthy environment. In this chapter we focus on how air pollution severely affects the health and wellbeing (and human rights) of the world's population, with a focus on South African case studies that illustrate the particular vulnerability of the poor living in hazardous areas. According to WHO (2022), every year around 7 million premature deaths are attributable to air pollution globally - a staggering 800 people every hour, or 13 people every minute. Overall, air pollution is responsible for more deaths than many other risk factors, including malnutrition, alcohol use and physical inactivity.