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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/mar/11/only-seven-countries-worldwide-meet-who-dirty-air-guidelines-study-shows>
"Nearly every country on Earth has dirtier air than doctors recommend
breathing, a report has found.
Only seven countries met the World Health Organization’s guidelines for tiny
toxic particles known as PM2.5 last year, according to analysis from the Swiss
air quality technology company IQAir.
Australia, New Zealand and Estonia were among the handful of countries with a
yearly average of no more than 5µg of PM2.5 per cubic metre, along with Iceland
and some small island states.
The most polluted countries were Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and India. PM2.5 levels in all five countries were at
least 10 times higher than guideline limits in 2024, the report found,
stretching as much as 18 times higher than recommended levels in Chad.
Doctors say there are no safe levels of PM2.5, which is small enough to slip
into the bloodstream and damage organs throughout the body, but have estimated
millions of lives could be saved each year by following their guidelines. Dirty
air is the second-biggest risk factor for dying after high blood pressure.
“Air pollution doesn’t kill us immediately – it takes maybe two to three
decades before we see the impacts on health, unless it’s very extreme,” said
Frank Hammes, CEO of IQAir. “[Avoiding it] is one of those preventative things
people don’t think about till too late in their lives.”"
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
