Air pollution makes almost entire earth unsafe
Air pollution makes almost entire earth unsafe
New research maps scale of the public health problem
Only 0.1� percent of the land on the planet and 0.001 percent of the global population can boast levels of particulate matter ( PM2.5 ), or particle pollution , below the safety standards set by the World Health Organi�ation , according to a study at Monash �niversity claiming to be the world ’ s first on the issue .
Researchers used satellite-based meteorological and air pollution detectors and machine learning methods to quantify PM2.5 levels worldwide , providing an outline of how concentrations have changed in the last decades . The analysis found that while daily levels have dropped in Europe and North America in the two decades to 201� , they ’ ve increased in Southern Asia , Australia , New �ealand , �atin America , and the Caribbean .
In explaining the importance of the study , its author �uming �uo , professor at the Monash �niversity School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine , said “ it provides a deep understanding of the current state of outdoor air pollution and its impacts on human health . With this information , policymakers , public health officials , and researchers can better assess the short-term and long-term health effects of air pollution and develop air pollution mitigation strategies ,” according to a press release .
It also showed that by 201� more than 70 percent of days still had PM2.5 concentrations higher than 15 �g� m� , the safe limit set by the WHO but a threshold that is still arguable , said Professor �uo . The recording was even worse in southern and eastern Asia , with more than �0 percent of days having concentrations higher than the safe limit .
�lobally , the yearly PM2.5 average from 2000 to 201� was 32 . � �g�m� , or more than double the WHO safety recommendation . The lowest concentrations were recorded in Australia and New �ealand ( � . 5 �g�m� ,), other regions in Oceania ( 12.6 �g�m� ), and southern America ( 15.6 �g�m� ).
�nsafe PM2.5 levels followed seasonal patterns , such as “ Northeast China and North India during their winter months ( �ecember , January , and February ), whereas eastern areas in northern America had high PM2.5 in its summer months ( June , July , and August ), � Professor �uo said in a press release . �We also recorded relatively high PM2.5 air pollution in August and September in South America and from June to September in sub-Saharan Africa . �
Air pollution has dramatic detrimental effects on human health , with outdoor particulate matter playing a role in the development of common deadly conditions including strokes , heart disease , lung cancer , and acute and chronic respiratory diseases .
�Additionally , 2 . � billion people are exposed to dangerous levels of household air pollution , while using polluting open fires or simple stoves for cooking fuelled by kerosene , biomass ( wood , animal dung and crop waste ) and coal , � according to the WHO , which estimates outdoor and household air pollution is associated with about seven million premature deaths every year .
Outdoor and household air pollution is associated with about seven million premature deaths every year .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com ISSUE 2 | 2023
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