'Green' diseases kill 650 in UAE every year

Despite being lower than the global standard, the environmental diseases are still a major contributor to premature mortality in the UAE, according to the latest study.

There are nearly an average 650 deaths per annum in the UAE due to ambient air pollution – a leading contributor to premature mortality, study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers showed.

Ambient air pollution can cause or exacerbate asthma and contamination of drinking water and seafood supplies can contribute to various illnesses including cancer.

The objectives of the study were to quantify the illnesses and premature deaths in the UAE attributable to 14 environmental pollutant categories; prioritize these 14 risk factors; and identify interventions.

Doctors in the UAE have advised patients suffering from asthma to stay indoors during the dust storms – which have been engulfing the whole region. The doctors have also reported increase in the number of patients suffering from eye and respiratory diseases.

“The UAE environmental disease burden is low by global standards