US Virgin Islands named the cleanest place in the world
The U.S. Virgin Islands, New Caledonia, and Puerto Rico were named the cleanest areas in the world. CNBC reports this following an investigation by the Swiss manufacturer of air purification systems IQAir.
The study authors analyzed air pollution with PM 2.5 microparticles, which can cause respiratory disease, heart attacks, stroke and oncology. It is formed by the combustion of fossil fuels and agricultural activities.
The analysis found that none of the 117 countries surveyed met World Health Organization (WHO) standards, while three places did: the U.S. Virgin Islands, the French Overseas Territory of New Caledonia and Puerto Rico. Rounding out the top five are the state of Cape Verde and the island of Saba in the Caribbean. The cleanest cities were recognized as the capitals of the areas of Noumea, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan, as well as Canberra and St. George’s.
The cities of Central and South Asia showed the worst results, while Bangladesh, Chad, Pakistan, Tajikistan and India were recognized as the worst countries in terms of air quality. The most polluted cities are New Delhi, Dhaka, N’Djamena, Dushanbe and Muscat. In Russia, Krasnoyarsk is recognized as the most lagging city in air quality, ranking 96th out of 6475.
“This report is a wake-up call showing how people around the world are being denied access to clean air. Breathing clean air should be a basic human right, not a privilege,” said Greenpeace India representative Avinash Chanchal. He added that using high-quality public transport and renewable energy sources will help not only purify the air, but also overcome the climate crisis.
According to the World Health Organization, 4.2 million people die every year from air pollution. In 2021, the service revised its recommendations for the desired level of particulate matter in the air and reduced it from 10 micrograms per cubic meter to five micrograms per cubic meter.
Source: Lenta