Clean air is essential to happiness

More and more studies are being released that show our very air plays a distinct role in our mental and physical well-being.  We discussed some of the connections between air quality and brain disease here.  But what about happiness?  It seems that air quality and happiness are related too.  When the air is clean, we have the ability to function well and make rational decisions.  When it’s polluted, it lends to a feeling of hopelessness, puts our minds and bodies into survival mode and exacerbates or precipitates other health conditions.  Take for example these headlines:

Drastic water shortages and air pollution are fuelling Iran’s protests:  Typically, we hear about protests due to human rights violations, oppressive government, etc.  These are present in Iran and more.  Most of the killings we see in the news today are occurring in Tehran, the nation’s capital, which is also ranked as the most polluted city in the world, according to global air quality monitors. In November, its air quality index hit 200 – a level classified as “very unhealthy”. (Iran’s record drought and cheap fuel have sparked an air pollution crisis – but the real causes run much deeper)  The air pollution is not all from old cars and industry, either: it’s tied to the drought that allows duststorms that blanket whole regions.  Think about this: the drought is so severe that in certain areas, the land is sinking by 30cm (11.8”) per year.  The same thing is happening in Mexico, where in Mexico City, the land is subsiding by 25cm (9.8cm).  The residents there are also facing a severe, ongoing shortage of water, which may run out at any time. (The Last Drops of Mexico City)  Mexico City has drastically improved its air quality by enacting emissions restrictions and air quality control regulations, but the average PM2.5 level in Mexico City is 23 micrograms per square metre, over 2.3 times higher than WHO guidelines. (Air Pollution in Mexico: Challenges and Solutions)  Tehran and Mexico City, show us that air quality is a symptom of big problems in other areas–such as water shortages and oppression due to government, poverty, crime, or all three.

In China, a link between happiness and air quality: China has always been known as a country with an immense population and large cities and industry.  China’s cities have the same type of problems as other mega-cities: inadequate public services, soaring house prices, and concerns over food safety.  Similarly, they also have bad air pollution caused by the country's industrialization, coal burning, and increasing use of cars.  Siqi Zheng of MIT, leader of the research team that produced this study, says that "Pollution also has an emotional cost".  "People are unhappy, and that means they may make irrational decisions."  On polluted days, people have been shown to be more likely to engage in impulsive and risky behavior that they may later regret, possibly as a result of short-term depression and anxiety, according to Zheng.  The team used algorithms to analyze social media tweets and compare them to PM2.5 levels in each city.  They found a significantly negative correlation between pollution and happiness levels. What's more, women were more sensitive to higher pollution levels than men, as were those on higher incomes.  The most clean and the most dirty cities were also the most severely affected. 

Lahore, the second-largest city in Pakistan, registered a "hazardous" air quality index of 509 in November 2025,  according to IQAir, a global air quality monitoring organization. According to “Lahore's toxic winters: How smog is reshaping daily life in urban Pakistan”, smog affects more than the lungs. It influences how people feel, behave and cope with daily life. Residents frequently report a sense of heaviness or irritability on high pollution days, difficulty concentrating or a "claustrophobic" feeling when visibility drops and the city seems to close in. Studies show that air pollution has negative effects on mental health. For families already dealing with crowded housing, unstable work and unreliable transport, smog adds another layer of psychological strain.  Persistent exposure to air pollution can lead to hopelessness, a sense that nothing can be done, which undermines motivation to participate in civic discussions or environmental initiatives. Others experience heightened worry about their children's health, education and future, a form of "pollution anxiety."

In “Air Pollution Impairs Subjective Happiness by Damaging Their Health”, the authors quoted previous studies:

• Using the U.S. daily air pollution data, it was found that the increase in PM10 concentration significantly impaired residents’ happiness. The results of the study shown that the more serious the air pollution, the lower the subjective happiness of residents. (Valuing public goods using happiness data: The case of air quality)

• Based on a large-scale, social well-being survey of Mongolia, a negative relationship between air pollution and self-reported happiness was found. Its capital city Ulaanbaatar (UB) has experienced extreme air pollution during the winter months for almost two decades. UB is the coldest capital city in the world with a yearly mean temperature of 25 degF.  The poor of this area live in traditional yurt-like homes and burn coal for heating and cooking. The geographic location of UB at the bottom of a valley creates a thermal inversion effect, keeping pollution near the ground during the long winter.  The annual mean concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during 2011–2018 was roughly 6 to 13 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines, which of course negatively affects repiratory and coronary health of all the residents.  The study found a significant relationship between air pollution and self-reported life satisfaction. (Air pollution and happiness: Evidence from the coldest capital in the world)

• Using data from the Gallup World Poll, a nationally representative survey that is conducted annually in more than 160 countries, bothPM10 (larger particulates) and PM2.5 (smaller ones) are associated with significantly decreased overall life evaluation. (How Environmental Quality Affects Our Happiness)

Well, we probably didn’t have to tell you that most people are significantly happier on clear days than non-smoggy days.  But it’s been proven in more studies than we can easily list.  So what does that mean to you?  Well, try to live and work in the least polluted area that you can. If you live in a polluted area and can’t imagine things getting better, or moving for a better life, that actually may be due to the pollution itself putting you in an altered, pessimistic state.  And that’s where we need to advocate for those who can’t, because clean air (and water) should be a given so that they can concern ourselves with the pursuit of happiness, not hindrances to it.

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Unsplash