United Nations scientists warn more needs to be done to curb air pollution as the world bodymarks the third "International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies" on Wednesday.
Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo
Sept. 7 (UPI) -- United Nations scientists are warning "the air that keeps us alive is making us sick," as the UN marked the third "International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies" on Wednesday.
"Air pollution has often been seen as a very local, national problem," Martina Otto, head of the Secretariat for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, said in an interview with U.N. News.
"Since pollutants are traveling in the air, and often for long distances, we can't solve this by isolated measures. It's the air we share, and that means we also have to share the solutions," Otto said.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2019 designating Sept. 7 as the "International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies" to raise awareness and push for action to improve air quality.
The World Health Organization has warned over the last several years that almost all of the air we breathe is polluted. WHO scientists say polluted air kills around 7 million people every year. About 90% of those deaths take place in low and middle-income countries.
"The populations there have particular vulnerabilities, linked to the technologies they use for cooking, for heating their homes, for transportation and the kind of energy that is often used," said Nathan Borgford-Parnell, coordinator of Science Affairs for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
Borgford-Parnell warned it is vital for more people to recognize the link between pollution and climate change.
Sept. 7 (UPI) -- United Nations scientists are warning "the air that keeps us alive is making us sick," as the UN marked the third "International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies" on Wednesday.
"Air pollution has often been seen as a very local, national problem," Martina Otto, head of the Secretariat for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, said in an interview with U.N. News.
"Since pollutants are traveling in the air, and often for long distances, we can't solve this by isolated measures. It's the air we share, and that means we also have to share the solutions," Otto said.
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2019 designating Sept. 7 as the "International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies" to raise awareness and push for action to improve air quality.
The World Health Organization has warned over the last several years that almost all of the air we breathe is polluted. WHO scientists say polluted air kills around 7 million people every year. About 90% of those deaths take place in low and middle-income countries.
"The populations there have particular vulnerabilities, linked to the technologies they use for cooking, for heating their homes, for transportation and the kind of energy that is often used," said Nathan Borgford-Parnell, coordinator of Science Affairs for the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
Borgford-Parnell warned it is vital for more people to recognize the link between pollution and climate change.
"Wildfires are human driven, yet some people try to act as if they're natural occurrences," Borgford-Parnell said.
"But the precipitous increase in wildfires in recent years, and the modeling that says that we're going to continue to see them increasing all over the world ... shows us that climate change will directly impact the burden of disease from air pollution caused by the wildfires," he said.
Scientists say solutions exist that can help reduce air pollution if implemented on a wide scale. Those include banning the open burning of waste, which allows methane to escape, city redesigns to reduce the need for transportation, and alternative fuels.
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"It's no longer a blame game. It's about looking together at solutions, which lie in cooperation," Otto said. "It's a sustainable development issue: the very thing that keeps all of us alive breathing makes us sick, as well."
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