While considerable progress in this area is being made in many developed countries, air pollution has reached alarming levels in 2022. Only 13 of 131 countries and regions have succeeded in achieving a level of air quality considered healthy and in compliance with the directive of the World Health Organization (WHO), unveiled the latest report from IQAir.
Air pollution remains the greatest environmental threat to health. Globally, poor air quality is responsible for 93 billion sick days and more than six million deaths each year. The total economic cost amounts to more than 8 trillion dollars, or more than 6.1% of the world’s annual GDP, the Swiss company indicated in its 2022 report on the quality of the air in the world.
This report examines the state of air quality around the world. It presents air quality data for PM2.5 in 7,323 cities in 131 countries, regions and territories. This data was aggregated from more than 30,000 regulatory air quality monitoring stations and low-cost air quality sensors.
According to the company, monitoring stations and these sensors are operated by government agencies, research institutes, non-profit non-governmental organizations, universities and educational institutions, private companies and citizen scientists around the world. entire.
IQAir reports that only 13 countries or territories in the world had a correct level of quality in line with WHO guidelines, while 90% of countries exceed the organization’s guidelines on the subject.
The countries which thus respect the average level of air pollution lower or equal to 5 micrograms per cubic meter are Australia, Estonia, Finland, Grenada, Iceland and New Zealand as well as seven territories Pacific and Caribbean, including Guam and Puerto Rico,
By contrast, air pollution worsened in 2022 in Asia and the Middle East. Air quality in seven countries is of particular concern, including Chad, Iraq, Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Kuwait and India. The average air pollution of the latter exceeds 50 micrograms per cubic meter.
According to the air quality technology company, the countries with the best quality are those that take specific steps to abandon polluting industries and switch to greener forms of energy, such as electricity. solar and wind energy.
In Morocco, where the quality of the regions varies between “good” and “moderate”, the national air quality monitoring network is made up of 29 fixed stations whose objective is to measure, forecast and inform the public, local authorities and decision-makers on air quality, indicated the supervisory ministry which affirmed, a few months ago, the establishment of new stations.
These stations, which carry out continuous measurements of gaseous pollutants, have been placed in urban areas far from industrial sites, as well as in areas where there are cars and industrial units. Remember that the Kingdom has made great efforts to monitor air pollution and reduce its effects on public health for several decades.