When it comes to air quality, almost nobody on Earth is safe, according to a new study that found only 0.001 per cent of the global population isn’t being exposed to levels of particulate matter above the World Health Organization’s threshold for safety.
A hiker takes in the snow covered mountains surrounding Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park on June 22, 2002. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan HaywardWe are constantly breathing in fine particulate matter detrimental to our health in nearly every place across the planet, researchers found, with only 0.001 per cent of the global population being exposed to levels of particulate matter considered safe by the World Health Organization .
Researchers found that the daily levels of fine particular matter had been decreasing in Europe and North America in the two decades leading up 2019. However, in the same time period, levels increased in Southern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and the Caribbean.And despite levels decreasing in some regions, more than 70 per cent of the days in the study period had particulate matter concentrations higher than the WHO threshold for safety. Just 0.
Air quality is not constant. Due to weather patterns and human activity, air quality in any given region fluctuates, and some regions may have more days with a high concentration of particulate matter than other regions. But there’s also safety in terms of exposure on days when the concentration of pollutants in the air is high. The WHO specifies that to stay within safe parameters, a person should not have more than 3-4 days per year where they are exposed to more than 15 micrograms of pollutant per cubic metre for 24 hours.
Australia and New Zealand saw air quality worsen in 2019, with a clear increase in the number of days that saw concentrations above the WHO threshold, something researchers theorize could have been connected to increased dust and bushfire events in that year.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
Four astronauts fly SpaceX back home, end 5-month missionFour space station astronauts returned to Earth late Saturday after a quick SpaceX flight home.
Lire la suite »
Jenna Ortega ‘Almost Passed’ On Playing ‘Wednesday’Jenna Ortega says she almost missed out on the role of a lifetime. Netflix's 'Addams Family' spin-off 'Wednesday' propelled the actress into overnight super stardom, but it was a role that Ortega almost didn't take. In an interview with the UK's Times, via Deadline, she revealed she initially had no interest in the project. [readmore…
Lire la suite »
GWYNNE DYER: How the chilling threat of ‘General Winter’ proved the right motivation for Europe, even though Russia’s cold hand never played out | SaltWire'In the end, there was no significant popular pressure to get the Russian gas back because the EU has done a remarkably effective job of getting more gas from elsewhere and cutting its own use of gas,' writes Gwynne Dyer.
Lire la suite »
NASA monitoring asteroid that may crash into Earth on Valentine’s Day 2046 — but they’re not too worried about itExperts say the asteroid has a one in 600 chance of making impact, though this may change as astronomers continue observing the object.
Lire la suite »
Opinion: Bird banding gives us incredible insights into avian life – and our planetWith the help of planet Earth’s armies of banders, ornithologists long ago established that migratory birds need intact habitats to survive
Lire la suite »
Four astronauts fly SpaceX back home, end 5-month missionCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Four space station astronauts returned to Earth late Saturday after a quick SpaceX flight home.
Lire la suite »