The report also revealed that seven million people a year die from air pollution.
The WHO (World Health Organisation) released figures which showed as many as 90% of the world’s population is exposed to dangerously high levels of pollutants which can lead to cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
These air pollution levels were at their highest in the eastern Mediterranean and southeast Asia, where in some areas airborne toxins were five times WHO limits.
Additionally, approximately seven million people have died prematurely due to household and air pollution, with the manner of death ranging from pneumonia (21% of the seven million per year), stroke (20%), ischaemic heart disease (34%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (19%) and lung cancer (7%).
Of those seven million deaths per year, 3.8 million are said to be from household pollutants, with as many as three billion people around the world exposed to deadly fumes from cooking stoves and fires.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had the following to say about the situation:
“Air pollution threatens us all, but the poorest and most marginalised people bear the brunt of the burden. If we don’t take urgent action on air pollution, we will never come close to achieving sustainable development.”
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