Only 0.18% of the earth’s surface and 0.001% of the world’s population lives at levels of pollution considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to the first global study on air pollution.
This work, the first to measure PM2.5 polluting particles in the world, reveals that, in the last 20 years, Europe and North America have reduced their levels of air pollution, while Asia, Australia, New Zealand, America Latin America and the Caribbean these have increased.
For decades, the lack of air pollution monitoring stations made it impossible to obtain data on local, national, and global exposure to PM2.5, the microparticles most damaging to environmental health.
Now, for the first time, a team of scientists led by Yuming Guo of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, has produced a map of the evolution of PM2.5 over the past two decades, with the results published today in the Lancet Planetary Health”, reported the Efe agency.
In conducting the study, the team used traditional air quality monitoring observations, satellite weather and air pollution detectors, and statistical and artificial intelligence methods to more accurately assess global PM2.5 concentrations.
The study details that despite a slight decrease in days of high PM2.5 exposure around the world, in 2019 more than 70% of days continued with PM2.5 concentrations above 15 µg/m³ [microgramas por metro cúbico].
In South and East Asia alone, more than 90% of days had daily PM2.5 concentrations greater than 15 µg/m³.
Additionally, Australia and New Zealand saw a sharp increase in the number of days with high PM2.5 concentrations in 2019.
Globally, the annual average PM2.5 between 2000 and 2019 was 32.8 µg/m3, according to the study.
These data, in contrast to the 2021 WHO guidelines, show that only 0.18% of the global land area and 0.001% of the global population were exposed to annual exposures below this reference limit (annual average of 5 µg/m³) in 2019.
The study also shows different seasonal patterns, such as lower pollution levels in northeast China and northern India during the winter months (December, January, and February) and higher PM2.5 levels in areas of North America. during the summer months. (June, July and August).
“We also saw relatively high air pollution of PM2.5 in South America in August and September and in sub-Saharan Africa in June and September,” Yuming Guo added.
For the scientist, knowing these data is important because “they provide in-depth knowledge about the current state of outdoor air pollution and its impact on human health.”
“With this information, policymakers, public health authorities, and researchers can better assess the short- and long-term effects of air pollution on health and develop strategies to mitigate it,” the researcher defended.
Source: TSF
