According to the World Health Organization, air pollution kills nearly 7 million people each year

New Delhi, India The World Health Organization has declared air pollution to be “one of the most serious environmental threats to human health,” alongside climate change, and has estimated that it kills an estimated 7 million people each year.

“Air pollution, along with climate change, is one of the most serious environmental threats to human health. Improving air quality can help with climate change mitigation efforts, while lowering emissions will help with air quality, according to the top UN health agency.

According to the World Health Organization, “every year, air pollution is estimated to cause 7 million premature deaths and result in the loss of millions more healthy years of life.” In children, this could include decreased lung growth and function, respiratory infections, and exacerbation of asthma.”

Meanwhile, the WHO published new air quality guidelines for the first time since its last global update in 2005. According to the WHO, the new air quality guidelines (AQGs) aim to save millions of lives from air pollution.

“New World Health Organization Global Air Quality Guidelines provide clear evidence of the harm that air pollution causes to human health, even at lower concentrations than previously understood,” the WHO said in a statement.

“Since the World Health Organization’s last global update in 2005, there has been a significant increase in evidence demonstrating how air pollution affects various aspects of health. As a result, and following a systematic review of the available evidence, WHO has reduced almost all of the AQG levels, warning that exceeding the new air quality guideline levels is associated with significant health risks,” the WHO stated.

The 2021 guidelines state that PM 10 levels should not exceed 15 g/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre of air) on an annual basis, or 45 g/m3 on a 24-hour basis. According to the 2005 guidelines, the limit for PM 10 was 20 g/m3 annual mean or 50 g/m3 24-hour mean.

They recommend that PM 2.5 levels not exceed 5 g/m3 on an annual basis or 15 g/m3 on a 24-hour basis. According to the 2005 guidelines, the limit for PM 2.5 was 10 g/m3 annual mean or 25 g/m3 24-hour mean. The AQG level of another pollutant, Nitrogen Dioxide, was 40 g/m3 annual mean under the 2005 guideline, but the WHO has now reduced it to 10 g/m3.

The health risks associated with the particulate matter with diameters equal to or less than 10 and 2.5 microns (PM 10 and PM 2.5, respectively) are of particular public health concern. Both PM 2.5 and PM 10 can penetrate deep into the lungs, but PM 2.5 can also enter the bloodstream, causing cardiovascular and respiratory effects as well as affecting other organs.

According to the WHO, the primary source of PM is fuel combustion in various sectors such as transportation, energy, households, industry, and agriculture.
It emphasized that following these guidelines could save millions of lives.

The most common causes of premature death attributable to outdoor air pollution in adults are ischaemic heart disease and stroke, according to the study, and evidence of other effects such as diabetes and neurodegenerative conditions is also emerging.

According to WHO, this places the disease burden attributable to air pollution on par with other major global health risks such as poor diet and tobacco use. The global health organization went on to say that by aiming for these guideline levels, countries will be protecting their citizens’ health as well as mitigating global climate change.

The new guidelines also highlight best practices for managing certain types of particulate matter (for example, black carbon/elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, and particles from sand and dust storms), for which there is currently insufficient quantitative evidence to set air quality guideline levels, according to the health body.

Air pollution is a health risk in all countries, but it disproportionately affects people in low- and middle-income countries, according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

According to the WHO, the goal of the guideline is for all countries to achieve recommended air quality levels. Recognizing that this will be a difficult task for many countries and regions suffering from high levels of air pollution, the health organisation has proposed interim targets to facilitate stepwise improvements in air quality and thus gradual, but meaningful, health benefits for the population.

According to a rapid scenario analysis conducted by WHO, “nearly 80% of deaths related to PM 2.5 could be avoided globally if current air pollution levels were reduced to those proposed in the updated guidelines.”

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