Islamabad, Sep 6: The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued a warning on Thursday about the continued “spiraling, negative impact on health, ecosystems, and agriculture” caused by unchecked climate change, wildfires, and air pollution, which has been linked to millions of fatalities.
According to Lorenzo Labrador, the Scientific Officer of WMO, “nearly everybody on Earth basically nine out of ten people breathe air that is essentially unfit for purpose.” “This indicates that the air quality is above the guidelines set by the World Health Organization [WHO] and has a high concentration of pollutants, primarily affecting low- and middle-income countries.”
The current WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin has a number of disturbing discoveries, including this striking one. It was noted, for example, that the world has had continuous droughts and bouts of extreme heat throughout the first eight months of 2024, which has increased the risk of air pollution and wildfires.
Because to climate change, we encounter this situation more frequently. Finding answers requires interdisciplinary science and research, the UN body cautioned. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for global action to combat “one of the greatest environmental risks to health” and multiple preventable ailments like stroke, heart disease, and diabetes, citing a strong relationship between filthy air and bad health, asthma as well as acute respiratory conditions like lung cancer.
WMO’s Labrador told reporters in Geneva that “environmental air pollution alone causes more than 4.5 million premature deaths a year, mostly coming from vehicles and industry.” Air pollution is currently the greatest environmental risk because it is responsible for more deaths than both HIV AIDS and malaria together. However, it not only exacerbates climate change but also poses a risk to one’s health.
The UN agency report included a snapshot of regional variances in emissions, showing a trend toward “lower pollution in Europe and China” as opposed to North America and India, where pollution emissions from industrial and human activity were on the rise. We have been observing this trend since we began issuing the bulletin back in 2021, therefore it is most likely the “direct result of a reduction in emissions in those countries over the years.”
Furthermore, although it is well known that air pollution from small particles such as sulphates, nitrates, ammonia, and soot from wildfires and human activity is bad, Mr. Labrador reaffirmed the UN agency’s 2023 findings that these and other pollutants also negatively affect food security.
He stated, “The productivity of crops, particularly staple crops like maize, rice, and wheat, can be significantly impacted by particulate matter.” Man-made activities, such as tillage and harvesting, are mostly to blame for the particulate matter pollution that lowers agricultural yields.
“The quantity of surface area burned over a 20-year period during the Canada fires broke records.” Given the financial consequences of air pollution, the UN agency asked nations to safeguard public health, the environment, and the economy on Saturday, September 7, which is Clean Air for Blue Skies Day.
According to Labrador, “the first thing that cities have to do is recognize that the problem exists in the first place.” “Therefore, those cities and those nations must first admit that there is an issue with air quality, and there is enough information available globally to essentially admit that it is an issue that affects the entire world, especially in urban areas.”
