AIR POLLUTION A CONTINUING HEALTH THREAT IN WORLD’S CITIES
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AIR POLLUTION A CONTINUING HEALTH THREAT IN WORLD’S CITIES
27 SEPTEMBER 2016 | GENEVA. A new WHO air quality model indicates that 92% of the world’s population lives in areas where air quality exceeds WHO standards*. Information is displayed using interactive maps, which indicate areas inside countries that exceed WHO standards.
“The new WHO model shows countries where the air pollution danger spots are, and it provides a baseline for monitoring progress in combating it,” explains Dr Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director General of WHO.
It also contains the most detailed outdoor (or ambient) air pollution-related health data per nation ever provided by the WHO. The model is based on data gathered from satellite measurements, air transport models, and ground station monitors in over 3000 rural and urban areas. It was created by WHO in partnership with the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.
Outdoor air pollution causes around 3 million fatalities each year. Indoor air pollution can be equally dangerous. In 2012, indoor and outdoor air pollution were predicted to be responsible for 6.5 million fatalities (11.6% of all deaths worldwide).
Nearly 90% of air-pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with almost two-thirds occurring in WHO’s South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions.
Noncommunicable diseases account for 94% of deaths, particularly cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer. Air pollution also raises the incidence of acute respiratory illnesses.
“Air pollution continues take a toll on the health of the most vulnerable populations – women, children and the older adults,” says Dr. Bustreo. “For people to be healthy, they must breathe clean air from their first breath to their last.”
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