THE ESSENTIAL
- It is recommended to ventilate your home for at least 10 minutes every day to avoid the concentration of volatile organic compounds indoors.
- During pollution peaks in the city, it is preferable to limit physical effort, favor public transport, avoid going out in the afternoon when the heat is at its maximum.
14% increase for nitrogen dioxide, up to 8% for fine particles or even 11% for volatile organic compounds… The list is scary. It is about the evolution of the quantity of pollutants directly dangerous for health in the tropical cities over the last fourteen years. This can be consulted in the study recently published in the journal Science Advances According to the researchers, over this period, air pollution would be the cause of 180,000 early deaths, that is to say, considered avoidable.
Pollution from land clearing and waste disposal
In detail, the scientists studied the main cities – 46 in total – in Africa, the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia. Thus, they believe that it is above all the very rapid increase in pollution in these areas that explains this high mortality. According to them, several factors can explain it: emissions from industry, road traffic but also the treatment and combustion of waste in tropical countries.
“Open burning for land clearing and agricultural waste disposal previously practiced in tropical cities accounts for current air pollutionunderlines Karn Vohra, one of the authors. Our analysis suggests we are entering a new era of air pollution in these cities, with some experiencing drops in air quality within a year that other cities experience within a decade.“.
In 14 years, residents up to 4 times more exposed to pollutants
During their work, the researchers also estimated the population’s exposure to air pollution. According to them, during the period studied, the inhabitants were 1.5 to 4 times more exposed to nitrogen dioxide in 40 cities and to fine particles in 33 cities. They explain this explosion by two main factors: very rapid population growth and the sharp deterioration in air quality.
Another lesson from this study: the increase in the number of people who die prematurely due to exposure to air pollution would be higher in the cities of South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh (24,000 people who died) and in India (100,000 dead).
Africa, the next continent impacted by the increase in population
“We continue to shift air pollution from region to region, rather than learning from past mistakes and ensuring that rapid industrialization and economic development do not harm public healthexplains Eloise Marais, one of the authors of the study. Hopefully our findings will spur preventive action in tropical countries“. Indeed, the authors believe that the next cities that will be most impacted by the increase in air pollution are in Africa. According to them, the health consequences on African populations will be visible within a few years. .