Depending on how healthy you are in general, PM2.5 will have different long and short term negative health effects. When exposed to levels of PM2.5 between to moderate – hazardous range, one may experience the following effects:

• shortness of breath
• eye, nose and throat irritation
• excessive coughing and wheezing
• diminished lung function and lung disease
• diminished heart function, sometimes resulting in heart attack
• asthma attacks
• death

PM2.5 also damages the environment by increasing acidity in the soil and water bodies. Which in turn affects their ability to produce food and support life.

The 2.5 in PM2.5 refers to the size of the pollutant in micrometres. Micrometres have this symbol: µm and are equivalent to 0.001 millimetres. The smallest thing that the average human eye can perceive is about 0.1 millimetres, which is around the same width as a human hair. So in order for us to see something as incredibly small as a micrometre, we need to use powerful microscopes.