Around seven million people around the world die because of the pollution that persists in the air. Now, with the beginning of winters, the air quality has also gone to severe levels which are posing a big threat to human health. Billions of other people suffer from the effects of poor air quality.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 92% of the global population breathes toxic air.
How is the air quality measured?
There are over 60,000 monitoring stations located across the globe, which makes it the world’s largest centralized platform for measuring air quality. In addition to that, it also draws data from thousands of clean air initiatives administered by governments, non-profit organizations (NPOs), citizens, communities, and private companies.
The main focus of the analysis is on PM2.5 concentrations as this pollutant is widely regarded to be the most harmful to human health. Ambient airborne particles measuring up to 2.5 in size are known as particulate matter 2.5 or PM2.5. A micron is one-millionth of a meter or one-thousandth of a millimeter. The microscopic size of these particles allows them to enter into our bloodstream through the respiratory system and travel through the body and causes various health problems including asthma, lung cancer, and heart disease.
Air pollution is also associated with low birth weight, acute respiratory infections, and stroke.
The WHO Air Quality Guideline Value for PM2.5 exposure is 10 micrograms of air pollutants per cubic meter of air. Out of 106 assessed countries/territories, there are only 25 which pass these guidelines.
The top 10 countries/territories having the cleanest air in the world are –
Puerto Rico – 3.7
New Caledonia – 3.7
US Virgin Islands – 3.7
Sweden – 5.0
Finland – 5.0
Norway – 5.7
Estonia – 5.9
New Zealand – 7.0
Iceland – 7.2
Canada – 7.3
