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Air Quality Unsafe for 90% of People In Urban Centres

posted by n1 on Wednesday May 07 2014, @11:17PM   
from the not-holding-my-breath--oh-wait dept.

lhsi writes:

Air pollution in many of the worlds cities is breaching guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Its survey of 1,600 cities in 91 countries revealed that nearly 90% of people in urban centres breathe air that fails to meet levels deemed safe.

The WHO says that about half of the world's urban population is exposed to pollution at least 2.5 times higher than it recommends.

Air quality was poorest in Asia, followed by South America and Africa.

• Particulate matter only Particulate matter only (Score: 5, Informative) by broken on Thursday May 08 2014, @02:00AM

  by broken (4018) on Thursday May 08 2014, @02:00AM (#40784) Journal

  Data can be found on this page [who.int] (linked from article) in this spreadsheet [who.int]. Only PM10 and PM2.5 are included (PM = Particulate Matter). Carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide, and ozone are other common pollutants not reported here that could also give a city "unsafe air quality".

  Although high income regions have on average much better air quality than lower income regions, still 105 out of 379 reported U.S. cities exceed the safe limit for PM2.5. This is an annual average so even more cities (probably a significant fraction) will have at least one unsafe day. So be careful where and when you breathe!

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+4
  Insightful=1, Informative=3, Total=4
  Extra 'Informative' Modifier		0
  Total Score:		5

• Re:Particulate matter only (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 08 2014, @12:28PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 08 2014, @12:28PM (#40869)

  Fuck that shit. I ain't breathing.

  Parent