WHO Report on Polluted Cities

Why in news?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently released a new global report on air pollution.

What is the report on?

• The WHO report compiled the air quality data for mega-cities with a population of 14 million or more.
• The global urban air pollution database measured the levels of fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5).
• The PM2.5 includes pollutants like sulfate, nitrate and black carbon, which pose the greatest risk to human health.

What are the highlights?

• Cities - Delhi and Varanasi are among the 14 Indian cities that figure in a list of 20 most polluted cities.
• Kanpur, Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Lucknow, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur are the other Indian cities.
• Ali Subah Al-Salem in Kuwait and a few cities in China and Mongolia are the other most polluted cities.
• These are the cities that registered very high levels of PM2.5 pollutants in 2016.
• In terms of PM10 levels, 13 cities in India figure among the 20 most polluted cities of the world in 2016.
• Impact - 9 out of 10 people in the world breathe air containing high levels of pollutants.
• More than 90% of air pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (including India).
• These are concentrated mainly in Asia and Africa.
• WHO recognises air pollution as a critical risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

What does WHO call for?

• The WHO has specifically addressed the member-countries in its Southeast Asia region.

• It has called upon these countries to aggressively address the double burden.
• This includes the household and ambient (outdoor) air pollution, which together cause premature deaths.
• WHO estimates that around 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles in polluted air.
• South-east Asian region, which comprises India, accounts for 2.4 million of 7 million such deaths globally every year.

Source: The Hindu