This is not meant to scare any of us to death, but it really should. Air pollution is the greatest environmental risk to the health of our time, and #ClimateChange is the greatest public health threat of the 21st century.
Every day 1.8 billion children breathe polluted air putting their health and development at serious risk. In 2016, 600 000 children died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air.
A new report of the World Health Organization on Air pollution and child health: Prescribing clean air examines the heavy toll of both outside and inside air pollution on the health of the world’s children.
Air pollution affects neurodevelopment, leading to lower cognitive test outcomes, negatively affecting mental and motor development. It is damaging children’s lung function, even at lower levels of exposures
Globally, 93% of the world’s children under 15 years of age are exposed to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels above WHO air quality guidelines, which include the 630 million of children under 5 years of age, and 1.8 billion of children under 15 years In low- and middle-income countries around the world, 98% of all children under 5 are exposed to PM2.5 levels above WHO air quality guidelines. In comparison, in high-income countries, 52% of children under 5 are exposed to levels above WHO air quality guidelines.
More than 40% of the world’s population – which includes 1 billion children under 15 - is exposed to high levels of household air pollution from mainly cooking with polluting technologies and fuels. About 600’000 deaths in children under 15 years of age were attributed to the joint effects of ambient and household air pollution in 2016.
Together, household air pollution from cooking and ambient (outside) air pollution cause more than 50% of acute lower respiratory infections in children under 5 years of age in low- and middle-income countries. Air pollution is one of the leading threats to child health, accounting for almost 1 in 10 deaths in children under five years of age.
Breathe life is a partnership of WHO, UN Environment and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants that aims to increase awareness and action on air pollution by governments and individuals. www.breathelife2030.org
Air pollution and health: How will our children continue to breathe? https://youtu.be/P-65ik9UKew
