Air Pollution Awareness

Air pollution consists of chemicals or particles in the air that can cause damage to the health of humans, plants, and animals. It also damages buildings. Pollution can be in the form of gasses, liquid droplets, or even solid particles. Air pollution is most common in large cities. Emissions from many different sources are concentrated there. It often appears as smog.

Large cities in poor and developing nations tend to have more air pollution than cities in developed nations. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some of the world’s most polluted cities are Karachi, Pakistan; New Delhi, India; Beijing, China; Lima, Peru; and Cairo, Egypt. However, many developed nations also have air pollution problems. Los Angeles, California, is nicknamed Smog City due to the immense pollution.

Air pollution is a major cause of premature death and disease. 6 million people die prematurely each year because of air pollution, beating AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Nine out of Ten people breathe unhealthy air. In Europe, it is the single largest environmental health risk. The World Health Organization provides evidence that exposure to air pollution is linked with type 2 diabetes, systemic inflammation, Alzheimer’s, and dementia. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified air pollution as a leading cause of cancer. Chronic exposure to air pollution can affect every organ in the body, complicating existing and causing new health conditions.

In 2021, the WHO published new air quality guidelines to protect human health. The EU set standards for key air pollutants in the ambient air quality directives. These are less strict than the guidelines by the WHO as they reflect the economic feasibility of their attainment. Under the European green deal’s Zero Pollution Action Plan, the European Commission has set the goal of reducing the number of premature deaths caused by air pollution by 55% compared with the levels from 2005.

The topic of air pollution needs more space in the climate discussion. While not necessarily good for the economy, it is vital that a solution is found. Children, people with pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, minorities, unborn babies, and the elderly are particularly sensitive to complications caused by air pollution. There needs to be a change in our actions, in the actions of all companies, the industrial sector, and in politics to minimize the amount of pollution.