Air Quality Database 2022

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About  air quality database-

• The WHO air quality database compiles data on ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. 
• The database is updated regularly every 2-3 years since 2011. 
• The data compiled in this database is used as input to derive the Sustainable Development Goal Indicator 11.6.2, Air quality in cities, for which WHO is the custodial agency.

• The aim of WHO’s database 5th update is three-fold:

• • To compile measurements of air quality that can be used in assessing population exposure to air pollution.  
  • To raise awareness on air pollution and its impact on health; and
  • To provide a snapshot of air quality monitoring in countries.

• According to the 2022 update, almost the entire global population (99 percent) breathes air that exceeds WHO’s air quality limits and threatens its health.
• It says that more than 6,000 cities in 117 countries are now monitoring air quality but their residents are still breathing unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, while people in low and middle-income countries suffer the highest exposure.
• The findings have prompted WHO to highlight the importance of curbing fossil fuel use and taking other tangible steps to reduce air pollution levels.
• The WHO data has taken, for the first time, ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a common urban pollutant and precursor of particulate matter and ozone. 
• It also includes measurements of particulate matter with diameters equal or smaller than 10 μm (PM10) or 2.5 μm (PM2.5). Both groups of pollutants originate mainly from human activities related to fossil fuel combustion.

• The new air quality database is the most extensive yet in its coverage of air pollution exposure on the ground. 
• As many as 2,000 more cities and human settlements are now recording ground monitoring data for particulate matter, PM10 and/or PM2.5, than in the last update. This marks an almost sixfold rise in reporting since the database was first made in 2011.
• Meanwhile, evidence base for the damage air pollution does to the human body has been growing rapidly and points to significant harm caused by even low levels of many air pollutants.
• Particulate matter, especially PM 2.5, is capable of penetrating deep into the lungs and entering the bloodstream, causing cardiovascular, cerebrovascular (stroke) and respiratory impacts. 
• NO2 is associated with respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing), hospital admissions and visits to emergency rooms. 
• WHO in 2021 revised its air quality guidelines, making them more stringent in an effort to help countries better evaluate the healthiness of their own air.
• In the 117 countries monitoring air quality, the air in 17 percent of cities in high-income countries falls below WHO’s air quality guidelines for PM 2.5 or PM 10. 
• In low and middle-income countries, air quality in less than 1 percent of the cities complies with WHO recommended thresholds. 
• Globally, low- and middle-income countries still experience greater exposure to unhealthy levels of PM compared to the global average, but NO2 patterns are different, showing less difference between the high- and low- and middle-income countries.

Further reading: https://journalsofindia.com/new-global-air-quality-guidelines-by-who/

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