Air Pollution: Nigeria Ranks 4th Deadliest Globally

File - Photo used for illustration of story

Nigeria has been ranked the highest burden of fatalities from air pollution in Africa and 4th in the world, according to the Global Air Report published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI).

According to the report, air quality in Nigeria and at least 10 other countries is among the deadliest anywhere on earth with higher than ambient air pollution death rates as a result of the environmental hazards combined with extreme pollution sources like generator fumes, vehicle emissions and crop burning among others.

The HEI chart notes that there were 150 deaths per age-standardized deaths per 100,000 people attributable to air pollution in Nigeria in 2016 (the latest year of available data), compared to high industrialised countries like China, 117 deaths per 100,000 people; Russia, 62 deaths per 100,000 people; Germany, 22 deaths per 100,000 people; United Kingdom, 21 deaths per 100,000 people; the United States, 21 deaths per 100,000 people; Japan 13 deaths per 100,000 people and Canada, 12 deaths per 100,000 people.

Only Afghanistan with 406; Pakistan, 207, and  India, 195 deaths per 100,000 people per country, exceed the Nigerian figure.

The chart showcases a striking gap between the most and least polluted air around the world. While developed countries have experienced success in reducing emissions and air pollution levels, poorer nations have fallen behind, although it should be noted that tougher pollution controls are being introduced in some of the countries.

In 1990, 3.5 billion people were exposed to it and that has now fallen to 2.4 billion despite an increase in the global population.

The report notes that 95 percent of the world’s population is breathing unhealthy air. It said long-term exposure to air pollution contributed to just over 6 million deaths in 2016 with strokes, lung disease, lung cancer and heart attacks linked to many of them.





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