DHAKA: A new WHO (World Health Organisation) air quality model confirms that 92 percent of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits.

Information is presented via interactive maps, highlighting areas within countries that exceed WHO limits, says a press release issued by WHO on Tuesday (September 27).

Assistant Director General at WHO.Dr Flavia Bustreo said: “The new WHO model shows countries where the air pollution danger spots are, and provides a baseline for monitoring progress in combatting it”.

It also represents the most detailed outdoor air pollution-related health data, by country, ever reported by WHO.

The model, developed by WHO in collaboration with the University of Bath of UK, is based on data derived from satellite measurements, air transport models and ground station monitors for more than 3000 locations, both rural and urban.

In 2012, an estimated 6.5 million deaths (11.6 percent of all global deaths) were associated with indoor and outdoor air pollution together.

Nearly 90 percent of air-pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with nearly two out of three occurring in WHO’s South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions.

Ninety-four percent are due to noncommunicable diseases – notably cardiovascular diseases, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. Air pollution also increases the risks for acute respiratory infections.

“Air pollution continues taking a toll on the health of the most vulnerable populations – women, children and the older adults,” adds Dr Bustreo. “For people to be healthy, they must breathe clean air from their first breath to their last.”

Major sources of air pollution include inefficient modes of transport, household fuel and waste burning, coal-fired power plants, and industrial activities.

However, not all air pollution originates from human activity. For example, air quality can also be influenced by dust storms, particularly in regions close to deserts.

The model has carefully calibrated data from satellite and ground stations to maximize reliability. National air pollution exposures were analyzed against population and air pollution levels at a grid resolution of about 10 km x 10 km.

“This new model is a big step forward towards even more confident estimates of the huge global burden of more than 6 million deaths – 1 in 9 of total global deaths – from exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollution,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.

“Fast action to tackle air pollution can’t come soon enough," adds Dr Neira. “Solutions exist with sustainable transport in cities, solid waste management, access to clean household fuels and cook-stoves, as well as renewable energies and industrial emissions reductions.”

Earlier in September 2015, world leaders set a target within the SDGs of substantially reducing the number of deaths and illnesses from air pollution by 2030.

In May 2016, WHO approved a new “road map” for accelerated action on air pollution and its causes.

The roadmap calls upon the health sector to increase monitoring of air pollution locally, assess the health impacts, and to assume a greater leadership role in national policies that affect air pollution.

BDST: 1151 HRS, SEP 27, 2016
SR