Air pollution as bad for wellbeing as partner's death, say researchers

Authors of Can Clean Air Make You Happy? say exposure to nitrogen dioxide can be as damaging as 'big-hitting' life events

The effect on wellbeing of exposure to nitrogen dioxide, a gas mostly produced in diesel fumes, is comparable to the toll from losing a job, ending a relationship or the death of a partner, research suggests.

The study found a "significant and negative association" between life satisfaction and levels of the pollutant, which causes lung problems . These effects were "substantive and comparable to that of many 'big-hitting' life events," according to the researchers behind Can Clean Air Make You Happy?.