Elements for Life

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] 82

IR POLLUTION IS

the cause of many environmental and

public health problems. Exposure to particulate matter

and ozone can cause cardiovascular and respiratory

systems diseases. While the health risks presented by some air

pollutants, such as second-hand tobacco smoke or carbon

monoxide, have led to campaigns to raise awareness of the

risks, other forms of air pollution are more difficult to avoid:

particulate matter can be generated from a variety of sources

including vehicle emissions, road dust, power generation,

construction and demolition processes, pollens, molds and

even sea spray. Many people are unavoidably exposed to these

pollutants throughout their lifetime, and need more informa-

tion about air quality in order to mitigate the risks.

Environmental problems arising from this include regional

haze, impairing visibility in national parks and wilderness

areas; acidification of lakes, streams and forests; acidic damage

and erosion to buildings and other materials; ozone damage

to plants, and eutrophication in coastal areas. In addition, the

accumulation of toxic compounds in plants and wildlife results

in associated effects on the ecosystem and public health.

Awareness of these hazards has grown in recent years, and

several measures are now taken to address air quality issues.

These include:

• Environmental conventions to establish a broad frame-

work for cooperative action on reducing the impact of air

pollution and to set up a process for negotiating concrete

measures to control the emission of air pollutants through

legally binding protocols

• Development and implementation of air pollution control

strategies

• Accounting for emissions

• Developing, achieving andmaintaining air pollutant standards

• Taking regular measurements of pollutants, providing air

quality modelling and forecasting, and air quality index

(AQI).

In particular, developing countries with rapid economic growth

have serious problems in balancing the need for economic and

social development on one hand, and issues of resource conser-

vation and environmental protection on the other.

The WMO and its Members carry out a combination of

measurement and modelling activities to provide air quality

information for use by decision makers and the general public.

Given the widespread effects of pollution, these services can

be applied by communities at all levels to mitigate the envi-

ronmental and public health risks associated with air quality

in a wide range of activities.

2,3

Emissions

Among the many sources of emissions that cause air pollution,

some are particularly problematic:

Power generation

– In most countries, power generation is

responsible for the major part of the sulphur dioxide (SO

)

and nitrogen oxides (NOx) released into the environment by

human activity.

While measures in many countries have significantly

improved air quality, additional reductions are necessary to

address persistent public health and environmental problems.

Because these pollutants move beyond local and regional bound-

aries, individual localities experiencing environmental effects

cannot always control them. In addition, current laws in many

countries tend to address each environmental problem inde-

pendently, even if one pollutant contributes to several problems.

Transportation

– This equates mainly to ozone and particulate

pollution. Measures taken to protect public health and the envi-

ronment include regulating air pollution from motor vehicles,

engines, and the fuels used to operate them, and by encouraging

travel choices that minimize emissions. As an alternative to using

private cars, governments may seek to improve public transport,

provide tax incentives for more environmentally friendly cars,

and put in place restrictions on fuel and vehicle use. Consumers

can help by learning what can be done to reduce air pollution,

and how to make decisions that improve air quality.

Effects

Air pollution contributes to respiratory and cardiovascular

diseases, cancer, and nervous system and developmental disor-

ders. The link between exposure to air pollution and consequences

on health, depends upon the pollutant and the disease, and is also

influenced by genetic constitution, age, nutrition, lifestyle, and

socioeconomic factors such as poverty and level of education.

As reported by WHO, the environmental factor with the great-

est impact on health in Europe is indoor and outdoor air

pollution.

The European Commission Clean Air for Europe

(CAFÉ) programme, found that in the EU about 350,000 people

died prematurely in 2005 due to outdoor fine particulate matter

pollution. This corresponds to an average loss of life expectancy

of 9 months per EU citizen, and is comparable to the life

expectancy loss due to road accidents in the EU.

There are great

differences between East and West Europe, and between indus-

trialized and developing countries. Globally there are about 1.5

million deaths annually from lower respiratory infections, largely

caused by indoor and outdoor air pollution.

It has also been

found that during heat waves, 20-40 per cent of excess deaths

are due to air pollution.

Air quality: meteorological services

for safeguarding public health

Dr Liisa Jalkanen, WMO Secretariat