AIR POLLUTION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES

                                     AIR POLLUTION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES

Geneva:Developing countries in the southeast Asian region with expanding urbanisation are now at a greater risk of respiratory diseases triggered by air pollution, warned the World Health Organisation (WHO).'In both developed and developing countries, the largest contributors to urban outdoor air pollution include motor transport, small-scale manufacturers and other industries, burning of biomass and coal for cooking and heating, as well as coal-fired power plants,' a compilation of air quality data released by the WHO said.

Residential wood and coal burning for space heating is an important contributor to air pollution, especially in rural areas during colder months, it said. According to statistics collected from 2003 to 2010, the southeast Asia region, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh among other countries, ranked third for levels of fine particulate matter (PM)-- a way to represent air quality. With 97 PM10 (particles smaller than 10 microns), the region followed eastern Mediterranean countries such as Israel, Cyprus, and Syria among others.

The WHO monitored urban outdoor air pollution levels from almost 1,100 cities across 91 countries. This included capitals and cities with more than 1 lakh population.According to the global health body, around 1.34 million premature deaths were reported due to respiratory diseases and cancers due to polluted air in 2008. 'If the WHO guidelines had been universally met, an estimated 1.09 million deaths could have been prevented in 2008,' said Maria Neira, WHO director for public health and environment

                                                                       Prof: John Kurakar