Half the world’s city-dwellers breathe poor quality air

Half of the world’s urban population is facing a critical problem — staggeringly high air pollution, a recent report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.

According to the data collected by WHO from 1,600 cities in 91 countries, half of the urban population living in cities that monitor ambient air quality face air pollution that is at least 2.5 times higher than the maximum levels recommended by the UN body.

The report notes that only 12 per cent of people live in cities that comply with the WHO’s air quality guideline levels.

“In most cities, where there is enough data to compare the situation today with that of previous years’, air pollution is getting worse,” the report said, adding that this is putting a large number of city-dwellers at additional risk of confronting serious long-term heath issues, including heart trouble and stroke.

In April this year, WHO had estimated that rising outdoor air pollution was responsible for at least 3.7 million deaths of people under the age of 60 in 2012.

WHO has long maintained that air pollution — indoor and outdoor — is one of the biggest health risks.

Across the world, measurement of fine particulate matter in air of 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter (PM 2.5) is considered to be the best indicator of the level of health risks. In high-income countries, 816 cities reported on PM 2.5 levels with another 544 cities reporting on PM 10, from which estimates of PM 2.5 can be derived. In low- and middle-income countries, however, annual mean PM 2.5 measurements could be accessed in only 70 cities; another 512 cities reported on PM10 measurements.

COMMENT NOW