Global supply chain relocation reshaped PM2.5 pollution and human health risks

Global supply chain relocation reshaped PM2.5 pollution and human health risks | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Global supply chain relocation reshaped PM2.5 pollution and human health risks Steve H.L. Yim, Kaijie Chen, Tingting Fang, Qi Ran This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7865346/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The current global supply chain (GSC) relocation differs from earlier patterns, as shifts now occur not only from developed to developing economies but increasingly from China to South and Southeast Asia. However, the impacts of current GSC relocation on PM 2.5 pollution and the related health burdens across countries remain poorly understood. Here, we quantified these impacts and showed that GSC relocation aggravated global health burdens, leading to a net global increase of 207,105 PM 2.5 -related premature deaths in 2022. Additional burdens were concentrated in the Global South, particularly in India, China, and Southeast Asia, while major outsourcing countries in Global North such as the United States, Western Europe, and Japan experienced health benefits. We also found that GSC relocation intensified inequality in distribution of PM 2.5 -related premature deaths across countries. Although North-South trade was the dominant driver, transferring health burdens from developed to developing regions, South-South emerged as a comparably important contributor, exacerbating burdens in India and Southeast Asia but alleviating them in China. These findings highlight the need for supply chain and environmental policies to incorporate health co-benefits and distributional outcomes, ensuring that pollution reduction in one region is not achieved at the cost of greater health burdens elsewhere. Earth and environmental sciences/Climate sciences/Atmospheric science/Atmospheric chemistry Health sciences/Risk factors Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformationKaijieChen.docx Global supply chain relocation reshaped PM2.5 pollution and human health risks Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7865346","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":530829500,"identity":"de277ca5-22a5-4122-b1ce-de4ba04a9948","order_by":0,"name":"Steve H.L. 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However, the impacts of current GSC relocation on PM\u003csub\u003e2.5\u003c/sub\u003e pollution and the related health burdens across countries remain poorly understood. Here, we quantified these impacts and showed that GSC relocation aggravated global health burdens, leading to a net global increase of 207,105 PM\u003csub\u003e2.5\u003c/sub\u003e-related premature deaths in 2022. Additional burdens were concentrated in the Global South, particularly in India, China, and Southeast Asia, while major outsourcing countries in Global North such as the United States, Western Europe, and Japan experienced health benefits. We also found that GSC relocation intensified inequality in distribution of PM\u003csub\u003e2.5\u003c/sub\u003e-related premature deaths across countries. 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