Nine out of 10 are breathing foul air

geneva — Nine out of 10 people globally are breathing poor quality air, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday, calling for dramatic action against pollution that is blamed for more than six million deaths a year.

New data in a report from the UN’s global health body “is enough to make all of us extremely concerned,” Maria Neira, head of WHO’s department of public health and environment, said.

The problem is most acute in cities, but air in rural areas is worse than many think, WHO experts said. Poorer countries have much dirtier air than the developed world, according to the report, but pollution “affects practically all countries in the world

per year are linked to exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution

and all parts of society”, Neira said in a statement.

“It is a public health emergency,” she said. “Fast action to tackle air pollution can’t come soon enough,” she added, urging governments to cut the number of vehicles on the road, improve waste management and promote clean cooking fuel. It found that “92 per cent of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits”.

WHO has estimated that more than six million deaths per year are linked to exposure to outdoor and indoor air pollution. The data is more solid for outdoor pollution, which is blamed for more than three million fatalities annually.

But indoor pollution can be equally as harmful, especially in poorer developing world homes where cooking often involves burning charcoal. —

Over 6 million deaths