Since
2016, over 1,000 additional cities have been added to WHO's database.
Delhi
and
Varanasi are
among the 14 Indian cities that figured in a list of 20 most
polluted cities
in
the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016, data released by the WHO
showed on Wednesday.
The WHO
data
also said that nine out of 10 people in the world breathe air
containing high levels of pollutants.
Other
Indian cities that registered very high levels of PM2.5 pollutants
were Kanpur, Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar,
Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur followed by Ali Subah Al-Salem
in Kuwait and a few cities in China and Mongolia.
In
terms of PM10 levels, 13 cities in India figured among the 20
most-polluted cities of the world in 2016.
The
World Health Organisation has called upon member-countries in its
Southeast Asia Region to aggressively address the double burden of
household and ambient (outdoor) air pollution, saying the region,
which comprises India, accounts for 34 pc or 2.4 million of the seven
million premature deaths caused by household and ambient air
pollution together globally every year.
Of
the 3.8 million deaths caused by household air pollution globally,
the region accounts for 1.5 million or 40 per cent deaths, and of the
4.2 million global deaths due to ambient air pollution, 1.3 million
or 30 per cent are reported from the region, it said.
The
PM2.5 includes pollutants like sulfate, nitrate and black carbon,
which pose the greatest risk to human health.
WHO's
global urban air pollution database measured the levels of fine
particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) from more than 4,300 cities in
108 countries, according to which ambient air pollution alone caused
some 4.2 million deaths in 2016, while household air pollution from
cooking with polluting fuels and technologies caused an estimated 3.8
million deaths in the same period.
Since
2016, over 1,000 additional cities have been added to WHO's database,
which shows more countries are measuring and taking action to reduce
air pollution than ever before.
"WHO
estimates
that around 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine
particles in polluted air that penetrate deep into the lungs and
cardiovascular system, causing diseases including stroke, heart
disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and
respiratory infections, including pneumonia," the report said.
According
to the report, more than 90 per cent of air pollution-related deaths
occur in low- and middle-income countries (including India), mainly
in Asia and Africa, followed by low- and middle-income countries of
the Eastern Mediterranean region, Europe and the Americas.
"Around
3 billion people more than 40 per cent of the world's population
still do not have access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in
their homes, the main source of household air pollution," it
said.
It
said the WHO recognises air pollution is a critical risk factor for
noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), causing an estimated 24 per cent of
all adult deaths from heart disease, 25 per cent from stroke, 43 per
cent from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29 per cent from
lung cancer.
The
report, however, stated countries are making efforts and taking
measures and in this context, referred to India's Pradhan Mantri
Ujjwala Yojana, which it said, in just two years, has provided 37
million women living below the poverty line with free LPG connections
to support them to switch to clean household energy use.
India
targets to reach 80 million households by 2020.
All
countries in the region are making efforts to expand availability of
clean fuels and technologies, however, over 60 per cent population do
not have clean fuel. The combined effects of household air pollution
and ambient air pollution become increasingly hard to address if not
tackled early, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO
Southeast Asia, said.
"Air
pollution needs to be brought under control with urgent and effective
action. Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of deaths
globally and in the region, and air pollution contributes
significantly to NCDs such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory
disease and lung cancer.
"Cleaning
up the air we breathe will help prevent NCDs, particularly among
women and vulnerable groups such as children, those already ill and
the elderly," Singh said.
"Many
of the world's megacities exceed WHO's guideline levels for air
quality by more than 5 times, representing a major risk to people's
health," Maria Neira, director of the Department of Public
Health, Social and Environmental Determinants of Health at WHO, said,
adding, there is an acceleration of political interest to deal with
this global public health challenge.
