Tag: air

Air pollution in Europe still killing 300,000 a year: report

  by Camille BAS-WOHLERT Agence France Presse COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AFP) — Premature deaths caused by fine particle air pollution have fallen 10 percent annually across Europe, but the invisible killer still accounts for 307,000 premature deaths a year, the European Environment Agency said Monday. If the latest air quality guidelines from the World Health Organisation were followed by EU members, the latest number of fatalities recorded in 2019 could be cut in half, according to […]

WHO says air pollution kills 7 mn a year, toughens guidelines

by Robin MILLARD Agence France-Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) – The World Health Organization strengthened its air quality guidelines on Wednesday, saying air pollution was now one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, causing seven million premature deaths a year. Urgent action is needed to reduce exposure to air pollution, said the UN body, ranking its burden of disease on a par with smoking and unhealthy eating. “WHO has adjusted almost all the air […]

Funding needed to tackle life-shortening air pollution: report

by Natalie HANDEL PARIS, France (AFP) — Even as air pollution shaves years off life expectancy, fossil fuel projects get more funding than clean air initiatives, a global report said Tuesday. An annual survey by the Clean Air Fund, which looks into how much money is given to the fight against air pollution by donor governments and philanthropic organisations, found that air quality is low on the list of funding priorities. Less than one percent […]

India Covid surge hits new record as oxygen runs short

    by Aishwarya KUMAR Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India’s brutal new Covid outbreak set records on Wednesday with more than 2,000 deaths in 24 hours as hospitals in New Delhi ran perilously low on oxygen. India has been in the grips of a second wave of infections blamed on lax government rules and a new “double mutant” virus variant, adding almost 3.5 million new cases this month alone. Health ministry […]

Gov’t releases transport guidelines for duration of ECQ

(Eagle News) — Starting today, March 29, maritime transportation at ports shall operate only at 50% capacity. According to the Joint Maritime and Port Advisory released by the maritime sector of the Department of Transportation, composed of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), cargo handling, vessel operations and other related port ancillary services shall also continue to be subject to compliance with recent issuances on […]

India leads world in pollution linked deaths: study

India leads the world in pollution-linked deaths followed by China and Nigeria, according to a report published Wednesday that estimated the global impact of contaminants in the air, water and workplace. The report by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP) found pollution to be the largest environmental cause of premature death on the planet, causing 15 percent of all deaths — some 8.3 million people. Among the ten countries with the most pollution […]

Air pollution shuts schools in Iran’s capital

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Schools in Tehran were ordered to be closed on Wednesday after the Iranian capital was cloaked in dangerously high levels of air pollution, authorities said. Governor Anoushiravan Mohseni-Bandpey said kindergartens, preschools, and primary schools would be shut in the city and the counties of Gharchak, Pishva and Varamin. “The air quality index for the city of Tehran still has not passed the unhealthy status for sensitive groups,” he was quoted as […]

18 killed as Pakistan army plane crashes into residential area

by Sajjad TARAKZAI RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AFP) — Eighteen people were killed when a small military plane crashed into a residential area in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi early Tuesday, officials told AFP. The plane crashed into a poor village near an upscale neighbourhood in the garrison city that is home to the army’s headquarters, creating a fireball that lit up the night sky and terrified residents. “We have taken 18 dead bodies to hospital… that included […]

Air pollution deaths are double earlier estimates: study

by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — Air pollution causes 790,000 premature deaths every year in Europe and 8.8 million worldwide, doubling recent assessments, according to a study released Monday. Between 40 and 80 percent of those excess deaths are caused by heart attacks, strokes and other types of cardiovascular disease underestimated up to now as a driver of smog-related mortality, researchers reported. On average, a toxic cocktail of pollutants from vehicles, industry and agriculture […]

China says air pollution dropped in 2018

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s air quality improved substantially last year, the environment ministry said Monday, following a government crackdown on pollution and a weakening economy. Thick smog clouds have plagued China’s cities for years and represent the dark side of rapid development that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. The country’s economic miracle has rested firmly on the output of goods like steel, coal and cement, the production of which are all […]

India dominates list of world’s most polluted cities

NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India dominated a list of the world’s most polluted cities in 2018, taking 22 of the top 30 spots, according to a Greenpeace report. Air pollution is estimated to contribute to 7 million premature deaths every year and is considered by the United Nations to be the single biggest environmental health risk. While Delhi was again named the capital with the dirtiest air, in tenth place, neighbouring business city Gurugram, […]

Latin America’s worst plane crashes

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — A Cuban airliner with more than 100 people on board crashed Friday after takeoff from Havana with many feared dead. Here is a list of the worst air accidents in Latin America over the past three decades: – November 28, 2016, COLOMBIA – A British Aerospace 146 belonging to Bolivian charter company LaMia crashed into the Colombian mountains at 3,300 meters (10,827 feet) altitude. It claimed the lives of 71 people, […]