<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/20/revealed-almost-everyone-in-europe-breathing-toxic-air>
"Europe is facing a “severe public health crisis”, with almost everyone across
the continent living in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution, an
investigation by the
Guardian has found.
Analysis of data gathered using cutting-edge methodology – including detailed
satellite images and measurements from more than 1,400 ground monitoring
stations – reveals a dire picture of dirty air, with 98% of people living in
areas with highly damaging fine particulate pollution that exceed World Health
Organization guidelines. Almost two-thirds live in areas where air quality is
more than double the WHO’s guidelines.
The worst hit country in Europe is North Macedonia. Almost two-thirds of people
across the country live in areas with more than four times the WHO guidelines
for PM2.5, while four areas were found to have air pollution almost six times
the figure, including in its capital, Skopje.
Eastern Europe is significantly worse than western Europe, apart from Italy,
where more than a third of those living in the Po valley and surrounding areas
in the north of the country breath air that is four times the WHO figure for
the most dangerous airborne particulates.
The
Guardian worked with pollution experts to produce an interactive map
revealing the worst-hit areas on the continent. The measurements refer to PM2.5
– tiny airborne particles mostly produced from the burning of fossil fuels,
some of which can pass through the lungs and into the blood stream, affecting
almost every organ in the body. The current WHO guidelines state that annual
average concentrations of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 micrograms a cubic metre
(µg/m3). The new analysis found only 2% of the population of Europe live in
areas within this limit. Experts say PM2.5 pollution causes about 400,000
deaths a year across the continent."
Via Khurram Wadee and Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
