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The World Health Organization warns that exposure to indoor and outdoor toxic air kills approximately 600,000 children under the age of 15 every year.
Data from United Nations health agencies show that 93 per cent of children under the age of 15, or 1.8 billion young people, of whom 630 million are under five years old, breathe dangerously polluted air every day.
The air is worse in the western districts while the pollution targets escape Hong Kong
This has tragic consequences: in 2016 alone, some 600,000 children died of acute lower respiratory tract infections caused by polluted air, according to the WHO report.
"The polluted air poisons millions of children and ruins their lives," said the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "It's inexcusable. Every child should be able to breathe clean air so they can grow and flourish fully. "
According to WHO data, more than nine out of ten people on the planet breathe a dangerously toxic air, causing about seven million premature deaths each year.
Air pollution is particularly dangerous for children and accounts for nearly one in ten deaths among children under five in the world, the report said.
The WHO study, which examined the adverse health effects of children breathing outside and indoor air pollution levels hazardous to health, focused on hazardous particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres (PM2). , 5).
These include toxins such as sulphate and black carbon, which pose the greatest health risks because they can penetrate deep into the lungs or the cardiovascular system.
1 million deaths and 38 billion US dollars lost: the price of air pollution in China
The report found that children in the poorest countries are much more at risk, with 98 percent of children under five years old in low- and middle-income countries at levels of PM2.5 that exceed the quality standards of the country. The air of WHO.
This compares to 52% in high-income countries, according to WHO.
Together, household air pollution due to cooking and outdoor air pollution are responsible for more than half of the cases of acute respiratory tract infections. in young children in low- and middle-income countries, says WHO.
The report, published in advance of the first WHO World Conference on Air Pollution and Health, revealed that when pregnant women are exposed to air pollution, they are more likely to give birth prematurely and to have children. low birth weight.
It has been found that children are often more vulnerable to the impact of air pollution since they breathe faster than adults and thus absorb more pollutants at a time when their brains and their bodies are still developing.
They also live closer to the ground, where a number of pollutants reach maximum levels, WHO added, noting that newborns and young children are also more exposed to air pollution in homes using polluting fuels for cooking, heating and lighting.
According to WHO, air pollution can affect the development and cognitive abilities of children and can trigger asthma and cancer in children.
Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may also be more exposed to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in life, the report adds.
"Air pollution delays the development of our children's brains and affects their health in more ways than we thought," warns Maria Neira, head of the WHO Department of Public Health and the Environment. .
The UN Health Organization calls for an acceleration of the shift to clean cooking and heating fuels, as well as the promotion of cleaner transport, reduced emissions and better management of emissions. waste, among other measures.
"The world must reduce our excessive dependence on fossils [fuel]and accelerate to produce clean, renewable energy, "says Neira.
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