IQAir recently released a summary of 2021 data According to the report Air quality on Earth is in a rather deplorable state: there is no country where, on average, pollution has not exceeded the limit set by the World Health Organization in 2021, and only a few regions have satisfactory air quality.
The body looks at particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) in the air, European Environment Agency (EEA) According to his data These are the most dangerous to health. Pollution is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Europe and Hungary every year more than ten thousand The number who lost their lives prematurely due to air pollution can do.
WHO was updated last year as recommended More than 5 micrograms of airborne particles per cubic meter of air is actually harmful to health. The body had previously set a healthy limit of 10 micrograms, which was revised in 2021. In addition to improving air quality and the general health of humanity, the World Health Organization has forecast action to slow climate change and facilitate recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Three times the limit
IQAir in the list
Hungary is in the middle, 62nd, a hair ahead of Romania, just behind the Philippines. The national average is three times the WHO recommendation of 15.5 mcg, which is one and a half times the previous recommendation. There was no independent country where levels below 5 mcg were measured, with only Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and New Caledonia being in this category.
Scandinavia, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom topped the list with values 1-2 times the maximum, and Bangladesh, Chad and Pakistan were the worst off.
The largest pollution is from the use of fossil fuels, the transport of goods, and forest fires. A slow shift toward zero-emissions transportation will improve air quality, says Glory Dolphin Hammes, IQAir’s regional director for North America, but wildfires due to climate change will also cause severe damage to the air.
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