A new analysis from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimates that road vehicle pollution was attributable to at least 41,800 premature deaths in the United States in 2024, a rate of roughly five deaths per hour. The study, conducted in partnership with the UK-based Fia Foundation, used sensor measurements of emissions from fuel production and consumption and applied established health-impact methods to calculate mortality and illness.
The research also found that the United States leads the world in new pediatric asthma cases linked to vehicle pollution. In 2024, American children accounted for one in every 10 new pediatric asthma cases attributable to vehicle pollution globally, according to the study.
The study’s authors said that if the nation achieves 100% market share for electric cars, trucks and buses by 2040, it could avert more than 100,000 premature deaths and prevent more than 42,000 children from developing asthma by 2050, compared with currently expected adoption rates.
The findings come at a time when federal environmental policy is being overhauled. The Trump administration has undertaken broad rollbacks of environmental regulations and revoked plans to accelerate the adoption of clean vehicles. Experts said the nation is moving in the wrong direction.
Paul Jones III, transportation planner at the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, which reviewed the research, said: “Transportation emissions have real, everyday impacts on the health and safety of communities we live in and represent.”
Lingzhi Jin, a senior researcher at ICCT, said in a statement: “At a time when many Americans are concerned about the impact of environmental toxins on their families’ health, public health authorities can’t afford to overlook the impact of vehicle pollution on mortality and respiratory health outcomes.”
The study is the latest in a series of warnings about the health effects of air pollution. Last year, the American Lung Association found that nearly half of Americans breathe dangerous levels of airborne pollutants, a rise from the previous year.