Last year, less than one-fifth of cities worldwide met the international criteria, as set out by the World Health Organization, for clean air.
That is according to the IQAir World Quality Report published on Tuesday which looked at data from 138 countries.
Only Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Estonia, and Iceland made the grade, it said.
The report found that Chad, the Congo, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India had the dirtiest air, but IQAir Global CEO, Frank Hammes, says the real pollution levels are likely much higher.
“We still have a lot of hidden air pollution around the world and I think the more monitoring will go on, the more we’ll see, especially in Africa,” he said.
IQAir found that the continent has only one air quality monitoring station for every 3.7 million people.
Hammes said air pollution on the continent was as a result of various factors.
“It’s a combination of sand blown right through some of the region, especially sub-Saharan Africa, and a lot of dirty fuel being burned. And I think that’s being shared with a lot countries in Asia too.”
With pollution levels far exceeding recommended limits in most regions, this means that the vast majority of the world’s population continues to breathe unsafe air.
Shweta Narayan, campaign lead at the Global Climate and Health Alliance, said the burning of fossil fuels contributes hugely to air pollution and is also a major driver of the climate crisis.
“That’s why we believe that when we tackle the issues of air pollution, we are also addressing, these are also climate solutions, and we are addressing the issues or factors that are causing (the) climate crisis.”
Last week, data monitoring for air pollution was dealt a blow when the US State Department announced it would no longer make public its data from its embassies and consulates around the world.
Experts say breathing in polluted air over a long period of time can cause respiratory illness, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.
The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution kills around seven million people each year.
Reported by africanews
