According to the peer-reviewed study, published by Lancet Planetary Health, 99.82% of the global land area is exposed to high levels of PM2.5. Scientists have linked particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5)  to lung cancer and heart disease.  

“I hope our study can change the minds of scientists and policymakers for the daily PM2.5 exposure,” said Yuming Guo, the lead researcher and an environmental health professor at Monash University.

The researchers also looked at how air pollution has changed over the two decades leading up to 2019. For example, most areas in Asia, northern and sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean saw an increase in PM2.5 concentrations over the 20 years, in part due to an increase in forest fires. In Europe and North America, annual PM2.5 concentrations and the number of high PM2.5 days decreased as a result of stricter regulations.  

Fine particulate matter is made up of soot from vehicles, smoke and ash from wildfires and biomass cook-stove pollution, plus sulfate aerosols from power generation and desert dust.

We install a Sparrow Node on any public transportation or municipal vehicle. By linking its GPS position and each measurement timestamp, we create a highly accurate environmental map of the city. Sparrow nodes measure not only air pollution but also road quality and noise pollution. 

_______________

Article: https://time.com/6260752/harmful-global-air-pollution-problem/