The average annual air pollution in all countries – and in 97% of the world's cities – exceeded the World Health Organization's air quality guidelines in 2021. The finding is from a report prepared by IQAir, a Swiss air quality technology company, with who.

According to the document, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are among the countries with the worst pollution rate, exceeding the Organization's guidelines at least 10 times. On the other hand, the Scandinavian countries, in addition to Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom, had the best indices.

Among the 6,475 cities analyzed, only 222 presented average air quality that met the WHO standard. Three territories also complied with the guidelines: New Caledonia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"This report underscores the need for governments around the world to help reduce global air pollution," Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America, told CNN. " (Fine particulate matter) kills many people every year and governments need to set stricter national air quality standards and explore better external policies that promote better air quality."

The work carried out by the Swedish company is the first based on the new annual WHO air pollution guidelines, which were updated in September last year and halved the acceptable concentration of fine particles (PM 2.5) – which went from 10 to 5 micrograms per cubic metre.

Pm 2.5, despite being the smallest type of pollutant, is one of the most dangerous. It comes from sources such as burning fossil fuels, dust storms and forest fires, and has been linked to a number of health threats, including heart disease, asthma and other respiratory diseases.

According to the WHO, in 2016, about 4.2 million premature deaths were associated with this material. The entity pointed out that if the new guidelines had been applied that year, there could have been almost 3.3 million fewer deaths.

Worse pollution in the U.S. and the Amazon

In the United States, air pollution increased in 2021 compared to 2020. Of the more than 2,400 cities analyzed, Los Angeles had the worst air quality, even though it had a 6% drop over the previous year.

“A dependência de combustíveis fósseis, o aumento da gravidade dos incêndios florestais, bem como a aplicação variável da Lei do Ar Limpo de administração para administração, tudo isso contribuiu para a poluição do ar nos EUA”, escreveram os autores do relatório da IQAir.

China, which is among the countries with the worst air pollution, showed better air quality in 2021. More than half of chinese cities assessed had lower levels of air pollution compared to the previous year. The capital Beijing, for example, continued a five-year improvement, largely due to the reduction in the number of polluting industries.

Here in Brazil, the document shows the Amazon rainforest emitted more carbon dioxide than it absorbed last year. The explanation for this is the increase in deforestation and forest fires.

In order to reduce air pollution – and consequently improve public health – in addition to slowing global warming, the use of fossil fuels must be restricted, the report states. "We have the report, we can read it, we can internalize it and really devote ourselves to action," said Glory Dolphin Hammes, CEO of IQAir North America.

"There needs to be a big movement towards renewable energy. We need to take drastic measures to reverse the tide of global warming; otherwise, the impact and the train we're on (would be) irreversible."

Source: Época Negócios