Health

More than 100 of the world’s poorest and most poorly governed countries have no or limited monitoring of the polluted air their citizens are breathing

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/17/the-global-air-pollution-blindspot-affecting-1-billion-people

More than 1 billion people live in countries that do not monitor the air they breathe, according to data released by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Guardian analysis has revealed a great air pollution blindspot stretching the length of Africa, across large parts of the former Soviet Union, south-east Asia and the Caribbean. In 92 countries the monitoring equipment and staff needed to measure one of the world’s most deadly pollutants – particulate matter (PM) – are simply not available.

A further 33 countries, including Indonesia, Egypt and Russia monitor just one or two cities.

Outdoor air pollution kills 3.3 million people each year and it is getting worse. Globally, pollution levels have risen by 8% in five years. But there are signs that it can be brought under control. According to the WHO, pollution is falling in many places where monitoring occurs, including a third of cities in low- and middle-income countries.

Setting up stations to record pollution was the first step, said a WHO spokeswoman: “The cities which have invested in the capacity to regularly monitor and report the local air quality measurements have already demonstrated a commitment to starting to address air quality issues and public health.”

In those countries with no checks, citizens’ lungs remain the only place where pollution is recorded. People may be acutely aware of the corrupted air, but without the evidence that global or national standards have been breached, there is little imperative for governments to act.

The WHO data, made public last week, showed air pollution was a hallmark of global inequality. Where it is monitored, denizens of poor cities are almost twice as likely as the rich to be breathing bad air.

Poverty is also a common theme. Of the world’s poorest 50 countries by GDP per capita, 35 are not monitoring air in any of their cities. Because they are predominantly poor- to middle-income, unmonitored countries are very likely to have high air pollution in their cities, meaning the majority of city-dwellers in those places will be be unknowingly exposed to pollution that breaches WHO standards.

The cost of setting up a single monitoring station is currently around $150,000-200,000, according to the UN Environment Programme. This does not include the ongoing staffing and maintenance costs. Although new technology may be significantly cheaper.

In Africa, the world’s poorest continent, just 10 out of 54 countries are doing any monitoring at all. Africa has just 1.3% of the cities where the WHO records air quality, despite having 16% of global population and cities set to set to triple in size in the next 50 years.

But it is not only the poor who lack information – the poorly governed also live in the dark. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) democracy index labels 51 countries as “authoritarian”. Of these, 36 do not monitor their air. Just five non-monitoring countries appear in the democratic top 50.

In post-Soviet states, most of which rank as middle-income countries, barely any investment has been made in keeping tabs on the air. Across the vast expanse of Russia, with its thousand towns and cities, only Moscow records air quality.

Tiny Latvia boasts more monitoring stations than its former imperial master. Only the three Baltic states – Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia – have managed to implement thorough surveillance. Each of these rates above 7 out of 10 on the EIU index – Russia scores 3.31.

Even in countries where democratic freedom is limited, public information about air pollution can force great change. In China, the public outcry that followed the release of air quality data by the US embassy at Beijing’s forced the Communist party to make air a national priority. The consequent control measures, including a mass shutdown of coal power stations and steelworks, has lead to falling pollution in some of the worst-affected Chinese cities.

The pressure has also encouraged more monitoring. In China, 210 cities are now monitored, compared to 111 just two years before. This fits with an improving trend across the world. In 2014, 1,622 cities were monitored. Now it’s 2,974.

With high costs associated with monitoring, it is necessary to target high-risk areas first. One satellite study found that 96% of west Africans live above the WHO guidelines. However satellite observations are notoriously inexact. Professor Randall Martin is head of the Spartan project, which operates a network of on-ground sites at which satellite measurements can be calibrated.

“Satellite remote sensing offers a global observation source to fill that monitoring gap,” he said.

With these improvements, the blindspot is growing smaller. The number of cities monitored in Africa has doubled, with the notable addition of Nigeria. Africa’s most populous country had no cities being recorded in 2014. Now it has 12, with the city of Onitsha named as the worst city in the world for PM10 (particles under 10 but above 2.5 microns in width) pollution.

Similarly, because of an expansion of monitoring in Iran, the city of Zabol has superseded Delhi as the city with the worst fine particle (PM2.5) pollution.

With hundreds, perhaps thousands, more cities (including Lagos, Nigeria’s largest conurbation) waiting for the fog to be lifted on their own air quality, it is unlikely these two will remain at the top for long.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/air-pollution-rising/en/

More than 80% of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO limits. While all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities are the most impacted.

According to the latest urban air quality database, 98% of cities in low- and middle income countries with more than 100 000 inhabitants do not meet WHO air quality guidelines. However, in high-income countries, that percentage decreases to 56%.

In the past two years, the database – now covering 3000 cities in 103 countries – has nearly doubled, with more cities measuring air pollution levels and recognizing the associated health impacts.

As urban air quality declines, the risk of stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic and acute respiratory diseases, including asthma, increases for the people who live in them.

“Air pollution is a major cause of disease and death. It is good news that more cities are stepping up to monitor air quality, so when they take actions to improve it they have a benchmark,” says Dr Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant-Director General, Family, Women and Children’s Health. “When dirty air blankets our cities the most vulnerable urban populations—the youngest, oldest and poorest—are the most impacted.”

Global urban air pollution trends

WHO was able to compare a total of 795 cities in 67 countries for levels of small and fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) during the five-year period, 2008-2013. PM10 and PM2.5 include pollutants such as sulfate, nitrates and black carbon, which penetrate deep into the lungs and into the cardiovascular system, posing the greatest risks to human health. Data was then analysed to develop regional trends.

Key trends from 2008-2013:

• Global urban air pollution levels increased by 8%, despite improvements in some regions.
• In general, urban air pollution levels were lowest in high-income countries, with lower levels most prevalent in Europe, the Americas, and the Western Pacific Region.
• The highest urban air pollution levels were experienced in low-and middle-income countries in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean and South-East Asia Regions, with annual mean levels often exceeding 5-10 times WHO limits, followed by low-income cities in the Western Pacific Region.
• In the Eastern Mediterranean and South-East Asia Regions and low-income countries in the Western Pacific Region, levels of urban air pollution has increased by more than 5% in more than two-thirds of the cities.
• In the African Region urban air pollution data remains very sparse, however available data revealed particulate matter (PM) levels above the median. The database now contains PM measurements for more than twice as many cities than previous versions.

Reducing the toll on human health

Ambient air pollution, made of high concentrations of small and fine particulate matter, is the greatest environmental risk to health—causing more than 3 million premature deaths worldwide every year.

“Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health,” says Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. “At the same time, awareness is rising and more cities are monitoring their air quality. When air quality improves, global respiratory and cardiovascular-related illnesses decrease.”

Most sources of urban outdoor air pollution are well beyond the control of individuals and demand action by cities, as well as national and international policymakers to promote cleaner transport, more efficient energy production and waste management.

More than half of the monitored cities in high-income countries and more than one-third in low- and middle-income countries reduced their air pollution levels by more than 5% in five years.

Reducing industrial smokestack emissions, increasing use of renewable power sources, like solar and wind, and prioritizing rapid transit, walking and cycling networks in cities are among the suite of available and affordable strategies.

“It is crucial for city and national governments to make urban air quality a health and development priority,” says WHO’s Dr Carlos Dora. “When air quality improves, health costs from air pollution-related diseases shrink, worker productivity expands and life expectancy grows. Reducing air pollution also brings an added climate bonus, which can become a part of countries’ commitments to the climate treaty.”

During the World Health Assembly, 23-28 May, Member States will discuss a road map for an enhanced global response to the adverse health effects of air pollution.

WHO’s Air quality guidelines offer global guidance on thresholds and limits for key air pollutants that pose health risks. The Guidelines indicate that by reducing particulate matter (PM10) pollution from 70 to 20 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m), air pollution-related deaths could be reduced by roughly 15%.

Notes to editors:

The WHO urban air quality database builds on well-established, public air quality monitoring systems as a source of reliable data in different parts of the world. National efforts to create operational and representative air quality monitoring systems should be strongly encouraged and supported.

The primary source of data include official reporting from countries to WHO, and official national and sub-national reports and web sites containing measurements of PM10 or PM2.5. Measurements reported by the following regional networks were used: the Clean Air Asia for Asia and the European Environment Agency for Europe’s Air Quality e-Reporting database. In the absence of data from the previous sources, data from UN and development agencies, peer-reviewed journal articles and ground measurements compiled in the framework of the Global Burden of Disease project were used.

Annual mean concentrations of particulate matter (PM10 and/or PM2.5) based on daily measurements, or data which could be aggregated into annual means, were included in the database. In the absence of annual means measurements covering a more limited period of the year were exceptionally used.

WHO Ambient Air Quality Guidelines

PM2.5
10 μg/m3 annual mean
25 μg/m3 24-hour mean

PM10
20 μg/m3 annual mean
50 μg/m3 24-hour mean

For more information, please contact:

Nada Osseiran
WHO Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health
Telephone: +41 22 791 4475
Mobile: +41 79 445 1624
Email: osseirann@who.int

Kimberly Chriscaden
WHO Department of Communications
Telephone: +41 22 791 2885
Mobile : +41 79 603 1891
Email: chriscadenk@who.int

许多世界最贫困城市的空气污染水平上升

新闻稿

2016年5月12日 | 日内瓦 – 全球80%以上生活在监测空气质量的城市的人，呼吸着质量超出世卫组织限值的空气。虽然全世界所有区域都受到影响，但是低收入国家的人口受影响最大。

根据最新的城市空气质量数据库，低收入和中等收入国家中人口超过10万的城市，有98%不符合世卫组织空气质量指南。但是，在高收入国家，该比例为56%。

过去两年间，随着更多城市开始测量空气污染水平并认识到相关健康影响，数据库规模几乎翻了一番，现在覆盖103个国家的3000多个城市。

随着城市空气质量下降，这些城市居民也就面临更大的罹患脑卒中、心脏病、肺癌以及包括哮喘在内的急慢性呼吸道疾病的风险。

世卫组织家庭、妇女和儿童卫生事务助理总干事Flavia Bustreo博士说：“空气污染是造成疾病和死亡的一个主要原因。好消息是更多城市正在加紧监测空气质量，这样在采取行动改善空气质量的时候，它们就有了可以参照的标准。当肮脏的空气像毯子一样裹住我们的城市，最弱势的城市人群受影响最大，也就是最年轻、最年老和最贫困的人。”

全球空气污染趋势

世卫组织在2008-2013年五年时间内比较了67个国家总计795个城市的颗粒物（PM10）和细颗粒物（PM2.5）水平。颗粒物和细颗粒物包括硫酸盐、硝酸银和黑炭等污染物，它们可以深入肺部和心血管系统，给人类健康带来极大风险。随后对数据进行了分析，以了解区域趋势。

2008-2013年的重要趋势：

虽然一些区域有所改善，但全球城市空气污染水平上升了8%。
总体而言，城市空气污染水平在高收入国家是最低的，大部分较低的污染水平出现在欧洲、美洲和西太平洋区域。
城市空气污染水平最高的地方是世卫组织东地中海区域和东南亚区域的低收入和中等收入国家，年平均水平往往超过世卫组织限值的5-10倍；紧随其后的是西太平洋区域的低收入城市。
在东地中海区域和东南亚区域，以及西太平洋区域的低收入国家，三分之二以上城市的空气污染水平上升了5%以上。
非洲区域的城市空气污染数据仍然很少，但是可获得数据显示颗粒物和细颗粒物水平高于中位数。现在，数据库的颗粒物和细颗粒物测量涵盖的城市数量是之前版本的两倍还多。
降低对人类健康的影响

高浓度的颗粒物和细颗粒物造成的周边环境污染是健康面临的最大环境风险，在全世界每年导致三百多万人过早死亡。

世卫组织公共卫生、环境和健康问题社会决定因素司司长Maria Neira博士说：“城市空气污染继续以惊人的速度增加，严重破坏人类健康。同时，人们的意识也在提示，更多城市正在监测空气质量。空气质量改善，全球呼吸道和心血管相关疾病就相应减少。”

城市室外空气污染的大部分来源是个人无法控制的，需要城市采取行动，也需要国家和国际决策者促进更清洁的交通以及更高效的能源生产和废物管理。

高收入国家半数以上及低收入和中等收入国家三分之一以上开展监测的城市，在五年间将空气污染水平降低了5%以上。

现有可负担策略包括减少工业烟囱排放、增加使用太阳能和风能等可再生电力来源以及在城市中重点发展快速公交、步行和骑行网络。

世卫组织的Carlos Dora博士说：“城市和国家政府使空气质量成为卫生和发展重点至关重要。空气质量改进时，与空气污染有关的疾病导致的卫生费用就会减少，工人的劳动生产率提高，预期寿命延长。减少空气污染还会带来额外的气候红利，这可以是各国对气候条约承诺的一部分。”

5月23-28日世界卫生大会期间，会员国将讨论加强全球应对空气污染的不良健康影响的路线图。

世卫组织的空气质量指南为构成健康风险的重要空气污染物的阈值和限值提供全球指导。该指南支出，将颗粒物污染从每立方米70微克降到20微克，空气污染相关死亡可能减少约15%。

世卫组织城市空气质量数据库以全世界各地信誉卓著的公立空气质量监测系统为基础和可靠数据源。应强烈鼓励和支持各国努力建立并运行有代表性的空气质量监测系统。

给编辑的说明：

世卫组织查收空气质量数据库覆盖三千多个人类居住区，其人口规模从几百人到九百余万不等。大部分数据来自有五万或以上人口的城市。但是，约25%数据来自居民数量不超过两万的较小城市地区。

主要数据来源包括各国向世卫组织提交的官方报告、国家和次国家级正式报告以及包含颗粒物或细颗粒物测量结果的网站。还使用了以下区域网络报告的测量结果：亚洲清洁空气中心报告的亚洲数据和欧洲环境局向欧洲空气质量电子报告数据库报告的数据。在缺乏上述来源数据的情况下，使用了来自联合国和发展伙伴、经过同行评议的期刊文章和全球疾病负担项目框架下汇编的实地测量结果数据。

数据库内容包括根据每日测量结果计算的颗粒物和细颗粒物年度平均浓度或者可以被总和为年度平均值的数据。在没有年度平均值的情况下，作为例外使用了覆盖一年之内较有限时间段的测量结果。

世卫组织环境空气质量指南

PM2.5
年平均值：10微克/立方米
24小时平均值：25微克/立方米

PM10
年平均值：20微克/立方米
24小时平均值：50微克/立方米

欲获更多情况，请联络：

世卫组织公共卫生、环境和健康问题社会决定因素司
Nada Osseiran
电话：+41 22 791 4475
手机：+41 79 445 1624
电子邮件：osseirann@who.int

世卫组织通讯联络司
Kimberly Chriscaden
电话：+41 22 791 2885
手机：+41 79 603 1891
电子邮件：chriscadenk@who.int