Pollution is no joke and the whole world involved is listening.
Pollution and environmental risks are responsible for 1.7 million deaths of children below the age of five, according to two World Health Organization (WHO) reports released Monday. Although more and more people and companies have become aware of the risks air pollution poses and have tried to help reduce it by using things like a wet scrubber, there is a lot more that needs to be done.
The reports reveal that 570,000 of children’s deaths each year are attributed to respiratory infections, like pneumonia, caused by both indoor and outdoor air pollution, as well as second-hand smoke. Additionally, 270,000 children a year die in their first month from conditions due to air pollution and lack of sanitation, according to the WHO.
“A polluted environment is a deadly one – particularly for young children,” Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of WHO, said in a press release. “Their developing organs and immune systems, and smaller bodies and airways, make them especially vulnerable to dirty air and water.”
Chan has previously called pollution “one of the most pernicious threats” to health around the world – far greater than the threat of HIV/AIDS or Ebola, BBC reports.
In addition to the deaths, the WHO found that 11–14% of younger children worldwide report asthma symptoms and nearly half (an estimated 44%) of those cases result from the environmental factors.
Some people who are worried about their children, or themselves, getting asthma or breathing problems will take action in trying to prevent that when they are outside. Wearing a face mask can help protect people from pollution by giving them a better chance of not breathing in a lungful of chemicals and fumes that are around them.
(Visit the source article on Fortune for more information!)
(Photo credit: Witch Kiki)
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