Barely 0.001 5 of the world’s population would be safe from air pollution. He assures it world first study who has evaluated the fine particles (PM2.5) in the air around the planet and published in The Lancet Planetary Health.
Conducted by a team at Monash University, the research has found that only 0.18% of the world’s land area and 0.001% of the world’s population are exposed to PM 2.5 levels below safe levels. recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Despite the fact that they are not measured in many cities, suspended particles of less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) seem to be a better indicator of urban pollution than those that have been used up to now, PM10. This is due to the fact that, on the one hand, its origin is largely anthropogenic, since PM2.5 largely comes from emissions from diesel vehicles in the city. On the other hand, the effects that have on our health are very seriousdue to its great capacity ofpenetration into the respiratory tract.
The report underlines that, although the levels of this particle have been reduced in Europe and North America in the last two decades, until 2019, they have increased in South Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and the Caribbean. Worldwide, it is estimated that the inhabitants we are exposed to these levels above what is safe more than 70% of the days.
The lack of pollution monitoring stations worldwide for air pollution has meant that there is hardly any data on local, national, regional and global exposure to PM 2.5.
Now this study, led by Yuming Guo, provides a map of how PM 2.5 has changed around the world in recent decades.
The study reveals that annual PM 2.5 concentration and days of high PM 2.5 exposure in Europe and North America decreased over the two decades of the study, while exposures increased in South Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. and Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition, the study found that the highest concentrations of PM 2.5 were distributed in the East Asian (50.0 µg/m 3 ) and South Asian (37.2 µg/m 3 ) regions, followed by Northern Africa (30.1 µg/m 3).
The study provides a deep understanding of the current state of outdoor air pollution and its impacts on human health.
Based on the new 2021 WHO reference limit, only 0.18% of the global land area and 0.001% of the global population were exposed to annual exposures below this reference limit (annual average of 5 μg/ m³) in 2019.
According to Professor Guo, the study is important because it “provides a deep understanding of the current state of outdoor air pollution and its impacts on human health. Armed with this information, policymakers, public health officials, and researchers can better assess the short- and long-term health effects of air pollution and develop air pollution mitigation strategies.”