{"id":2872,"date":"2019-06-03T07:34:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T07:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africasustainabilitymatters.com\/?p=2872"},"modified":"2026-01-11T05:30:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T05:30:19","slug":"five-reasons-you-should-care-about-air-pollution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rayscohosting.best\/ASM\/2019\/06\/03\/five-reasons-you-should-care-about-air-pollution\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Reasons You Should Care About Air Pollution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Story by UN Environment<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air pollution is all around us. Indoors,\noutdoors, in cities and in the countryside. It affects us all, whether we\nrealize it or not. For the longest time, we have taken the air we breathe for\ngranted. There was air, there were smells, there was cold wind, there was hot\nair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But recent research has started to shed light\non some rather worrisome aspects of what the air around us really contains, and\nhow it affects our bodies. And the more we learn, the more we come to realize\nthat this essential source of life for the planet needs some serious taking\ncare of. Without air there can be no life but breathing polluted air\ncondemns us to a life of disease and early death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now\nthat we know how air pollution harms us, there is no excuse not to act. Below\nare five great reasons to reduce and eliminate air pollution from our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polluted air is\ncreating a health emergency<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nis no doubt today that air pollution is a global public health emergency. It\nthreatens everyone from unborn babies to children walking to school, to women\ncooking over open fires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On\nthe street and inside the house, the sources of air pollution can be very\ndifferent, yet their effects are equally deadly: asthma, other respiratory\nillnesses and heart disease are among the adverse health effects known to be\ncaused by polluted air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto the World Health Organization, every year around 7 million premature deaths\nare attributable to air pollution\u2014a staggering 800 people every hour or 13\nevery minute. Overall, air pollution is responsible for <\/a>more deaths than many\nother risk factors, including malnutrition, alcohol use and physical\ninactivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children\nare most at risk<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globally,\n93 per cent of all children breathe air that contains higher concentrations of\npollutants than the World Health Organization (WHO) considers safe to human\nhealth. As a result,600,000 children die prematurely each year because of air\npollution. As if that were not enough, exposure to dirty air also harms brain\ndevelopment, leading to cognitive and motor impairments, while at the same time\nputting children at greater risk for chronic disease later in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Household\nair pollution is particularly harmful to women and children due to their\ntraditional home-based roles in many cultures. About 60 per cent of household\nair pollution-related deaths globally are among women and children, and more\nthan half of all pneumonia deaths in children under five can be attributed to\nindoor air pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Being shorter than adults, children are more affected by ground-level pollution from exhaust fumes. Photo by Jack Kavanagh\/UN Environment.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pollution\nand poverty go hand in hand<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air\npollution goes to the heart of social justice and global inequality, disproportionately\naffecting poor people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In homes, air pollution comes mostly\nfrom fuels and high-emitting heating and cooking systems. Clean cooking\nand heating fuels and technologies are out of reach for low-income families,\nso polluting alternatives are the norm. About 3 billion people depend\non burning solid fuels or kerosene to meet household energy needs and 3.8\nmillion of them will die each year from exposure to these pollutants. A lack of\nawareness of the risks associated with breathing polluted air also contributes\nto the problem, as well as the cost and difficulty to access healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crowded\ncities and trafficked suburbs are hotspots for outdoor air pollution. According\nto the World Health Organization, 97 per cent of cities in low- and\nmiddle-income countries with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not meet the\nminimum air quality levels. Around 4 million of the approximately 7\nmillion people who die from air pollution-related diseases every year live in\nthe Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nhigh-income countries, 29 per cent of cities fall short of meeting the\norganization\u2019s guidelines. But in those countries, too, poorer\ncommunities are often those most exposed\u2014power plants, factories, incinerators\nand busy roads are often located in or near poor suburban communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ncheaper the fuels, the higher the costs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\npeople get sick, the entire community suffers. Ill people require medical care\nand medicine, children skip school and working adults miss days of work, either\nas a result of their own poor health, or to care for a loved one. According to\nthe World Bank, air pollution costs the global economy more than US$5 trillion\nevery year in welfare costs and $225 billion in lost income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\n2016 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development\npredicts that, if the situation remains unchanged, by 2060 the annual global\nwelfare costs of premature deaths from outdoor air pollution would be US$18-25\ntrillion, with the costs of pain and suffering from illness estimated at around\nUS$2.2 trillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\nare other less direct costs, which nonetheless affect us globally. Ground-level\nozone is expected to reduce staple crop yields by 26 per cent by 2030, creating\nfood security and nutrition challenges. Air pollution also degrades materials\nand coatings, decreasing their useful life and generating costs for cleaning,\nrepair and replacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UN\nEnvironment\u2019s sixth Global Environment Outlook estimates that climate\nmitigation actions for achieving the Paris Agreement targets would cost about\nUS$22 trillion. Meanwhile, by reducing air pollution, we could save US$54\ntrillion in combined health benefits. The math is clear: acting now against air\npollution translates into saving<\/em> US$32 trillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nright to clean air is a human right<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nright to a healthy environment enjoys constitutional status\u2014the strongest form\nof legal protection available\u2014in more than 100 countries. At least 155 states\nare legally obligated, through treaties, constitutions and legislation, to\nrespect, protect and fulfil the right to a healthy environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nright to clean air is also embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human\nRights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,\nand fully enshrined in the Sustainable Development Goals\u2014the global\nblueprint for peace and prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready\nto take action?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out what you can\ndo<\/a> to involve your\nbusiness, school and families. And call on your government to enforce the World\nHealth Organization guidelines for ambient and indoor air quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember,\nclean air is your <\/em>right!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read\nthe original article here>><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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