99% of the world breathes poor-quality air, says WHO
WHO says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesn’t meet its standards for air quality, calling for more action to reduce fossil-fuel use, which generates pollutants that cause respiratory and blood-flow problems and lead to millions of preventable deaths each year.
The World Health Organization, on Monday, issued an update to its database on air quality that draws on information from a growing number of cities, towns, and villages across the globe now totalling over 6,000 municipalities. It said 99 percent of the global population breathes air that exceeds its air-quality limits and is often rife with particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the veins and arteries, and cause disease.
Air quality is poorest in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia regions, followed by Africa, it said. The database, which has traditionally considered two types of particulate matter known as PM2.5 and PM10, for the first time has included ground measurements of nitrogen dioxide. The highest concentrations were found in the eastern Mediterranean region.
