Almost the entire global population (99%) is breathing extremely poor quality air and it is a health hazard. This claim has been made by the World Health Organization (WHO) in a report before World Health Day.
World Health Day is celebrated every year on 7 April. This year it is being celebrated with the theme ‘Our Planet, Our Health’.
The report said that air quality was monitored in a record more than 6,000 cities in 117 countries of the world. Of these, 17 per cent of cities in high-income countries had air quality below WHO’s air quality guidelines for particulate matter (PM) PM2.5 or PM10 and nitrogen oxides (NO2).
The air quality in cities in low- and middle-income countries was less than one percent. Ground level NO2 data collected in about 4,000 cities/human settlements in 74 countries. Their findings show that only 23 percent of people in these locations breathe an annual average concentration of nitrogen oxides that meet acceptable quality levels.
Reduce the use of fossil fuels:
The report’s findings have prompted the WHO to highlight the importance of curbing fossil fuel use and take other concrete steps to reduce air pollution levels.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that current energy concerns highlight the importance of rapidly converting these to clean, healthy energy systems.