The World Health Organization, about six months after tightening its guidelines on air quality, on Monday issued an update to its database on air quality that draws on information from a growing number of cities, towns and villages across the globe — now over 6,000 municipalities. AdvertisementWHO said 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds its air-quality limits and is often rife with particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the veins and arteries and cause disease. Air quality is poorest in WHO’s eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia regions, followed by Africa, it said. The developing world is particularly hard hit: India had high levels of PM10, while China showed high levels of PM2.5, the database showed. Tanushree Ganguly, who heads the council’s program on air quality, called for action toward reducing emissions from industries, automobiles, biomass burning and domestic energy.

Source: Huffington Post April 05, 2022 03:03 UTC