Exposure to fine particulate matter and inequalities across countries

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is a major risk for human health. Over recent decades, air-quality standards have become progressively more stringent, reflecting growing evidence of PM_2.5 as a public health concern. At the country level, differences in PM_2.5 exposure experienced and caused by countries, combined with differences in economic and social characteristics, shape inequalities in exposure to air pollution. We exploit a set of roughly 180 global simulations with the ECHAM/MESSy2 Atmospheric Chemistry model (EMAC) for the period 2014–2019, in which anthropogenic emissions from each country are excluded to quantify country-to-country contributions to PM_2.5 levels. Within this framework, we assess the role of domestic and transboundary anthropogenic pollution in shaping PM_2.5 exposure at global and national scales under different air-quality standards. Combining the country-to-country air pollution exchanges with socioeconomic indicators, we aim to identify disparities in the way countries experience and shape exposure to PM_2.5, thereby unraveling air pollution inequalities across nations