According to World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday,
Nine out of ten people globally are breathing poor quality air.
In
a staggering report, calling for dramatic action against pollution that
is blamed for killing more than six million people
worldwide, every year.
New
data in a report from the UN's global health body 'is enough to make
all of us extremely concerned,' Maria Neira, the head of the WHO's
department of public health and environment, told reporters.
WHO released an interactive map showing the exposure to pollutants known as PM2.5 for all countries.
Poorer
countries have much dirtier air than the developed world, according to
the report, but pollution 'affects practically all countries in the
world and all parts of society', Mrs Neira said in a statement.
It found that '92 per cent of the world's population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits'.
The data focuses on dangerous particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres, or PM2.5.
PM2.5 includes toxins like sulfate and black carbon, which can penetrate deep into the lungs or cardiovascular system.
'Air
pollution continues [to] take a toll on the health of the most
vulnerable populations – women, children and the older adults,' WHO's
Assistant Director General Flavia Bustreo said in a statement
Using
a different data set, the WHO reported in May that 80 percent of the
world's city dwellers breathe poor quality air, a figure that rose to 98
percent in poorer countries.
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