CNN
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According to a new report, air pollution reached unhealthy levels worldwide in 2021.
Report by IQAIRA company that tracks global air quality, found that the average annual air pollution in every country – and 97% exceeds the city. Air Quality Guidelines of World Health OrganizationWhich were designed to help governments’ craft rules to protect public health.
Only 222 cities of 6,475 analyzed had average air quality which was from the standard. Three states met which met by guidelines: French region of New Calledonia and Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands region of the United States.
India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were among the worst air pollution countries, which were more than 10 times than the guidelines.
The Scandinavian countries, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom were ranked in the best countries for air quality, crossing the guidelines with average level that crossed the guidelines 1 to 2 times.
In the United States, IQAIR found that air pollution exceeds 2 to 3 times in 2021.
Iquair North America’s CEO Glory Dolphin Hames told CNN, “This report underlines the needs of governments around the world to help reduce global air pollution.” “(Fine Particulate Matter) kills many people every year and governments need to determine more rigorous air quality national standards and detect better foreign policies that promote better air quality.”
Above: IQAIR analyzed the average annual air quality for more than 6,000 cities and classified them by the best air quality, the worst, worst, purple color (more than 10 times than WHO PM2.5 guidelines). One Interactive map Is available from Ek,
Who is the first major global air quality report on the basis of new Annual air pollution guidelinesWho were Updated in September 2021The new guidelines halved the acceptable concentration of the fine particulate matter – or 5 micrograms per cubic meter below the PM 2.5 – 10.
PM 2.5 is the most dangerous pollutant yet. When breathed, it travels deep into the lung tissue where it can enter the bloodstream. It comes from sources such as fossil fuel, dust storm and wildfire burning, and is associated with many health hazards. Asthma, Heart disease And other respiratory diseases.
Millions of people die every year due to air quality issues. In 2016, nearby 4.2 million death death According to the WHO, the fine particulate was associated with matter. If 2021 guidelines were implemented that year, it was found that there could be about 3.3 million less pollution related deaths.
IQAIR analyzed pollution-marketing stations in 6,475 cities in 117 countries, regions and regions.
In the US, air pollution increased in 2021 compared to 2020. Over 2,400 American cities Analyzed, the air of Los Angeles remained the most polluted despite viewing a 6% decrease compared to 2020. Atlanta and Miniapolis saw Significant growth In pollution, the report is shown.
Authors wrote, “On fossil fuel (United States’) Reliance, with an increase in the severity of the wildfire, separate the enforcement of the Clean Air Act from the administration from the administration, all have added to American air pollution,” authors have written.
Researchers say that the main sources of pollution in the US were fossil fuel-powered transportation, energy production and forest fire, which wreaked havoc on the country’s weakest and marginalized communities.
Hams, who lived a few miles from Los Angeles, said, “We are very much dependent on fossil fuels, especially in terms of transport,” We can work cleverly with zero emissions, but we are still not doing so. And it is having a devastating effect on air pollution that we are looking in major cities. ”
Climate change-fuel forests played an important role in reducing air quality in the US in 2021. The authors pointed to several fire, leading to dangerous air pollution-including California in Caldor and Dixie Fire, as well as bootlag fire in Oregon. Smoke all the way to the east coast In July.
China – which is one of the worst air pollution countries – 2021 shown improvement in air quality. In the report, more than half of the analyzed Chinese cities saw low levels of air pollution compared to the previous year. According to the report, the five -year trend of better air quality continues in Beijing’s capital. Policy-driven dradown Of polluting industries in the city.
The report also found that Amazon rainforestWho acted as the world’s leading protector against the climate crisis, emitted more carbon dioxide than being absorbed last year. Deforestation And Forest fire Important ecosystems have threatened, polluting the air and contributed to climate change.
“It is a part of all the formulas that will lead or move forward for global warming.” Hams said.
Some inequalities were also unveiled in the report: Monitoring stations in Africa, South America and some developing countries of the Middle East remain scary, resulting in a decrease in air quality data in those areas.
“When you don’t have that data, you are really in the dark,” Hams said.
Hams said that the African country Chad was first included in the report, due to improvement in its surveillance network. Ekir found that the country’s air pollution was the second largest in the world behind Bangladesh last year.
Tariq benmarania, a climate change epidemiologist in the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who has studied the health effects of the smoke of the forest fire, also said that only relying on monitoring stations can cause blind stains in these reports.
“I think it’s great that they rely on different networks and not only depended on government sources,” Benmaronia, who was not included in this report, told CNN. “However, many areas do not have enough stations and alternative techniques exist.”
United Nations Inter government panel on climate change Completed in its 2021 report In addition to slowing down the speed of global warming, curbing the use of fossil fuels will provide additional benefits of air quality and improvement in public health.
Hams said that the ekier report is even more reasons for closing the world’s fossil fuel.
“We have received the report, we can read it, we can internal and really dedicate ourselves to action,” he said. “Renewable energy should be a big step towards energy. We need to take strict action to reverse the tide of global warming; otherwise, the effects and trains that we (will be irreversible) will be.”
