Bloomberg: Air Pollution Kills 7 Million People a Year, WHO Reports
“Toxic levels of pollution leads annually to the early death of an estimated seven million people, according to a new World Health Organization report. Nine of 10 people around the world are exposed to dangerously high levels of pollutants that can lead to cancer and cardiovascular diseases, according to the study, which drew off the most-recent 2016 data…” (Hodges, 5/1).

CNN: Which cities face most, least air pollution according to new WHO data
“…The study is an analysis of what the WHO says is the world’s most comprehensive database on ambient air pollution. The organization collected the data from more than 4,300 cities and 108 countries…” (Christensen, 5/1).

The Guardian: Air pollution inequality widens between rich and poor nations
“…[L]evels of contamination vary widely depending on government actions and financial resources. For the first time, the report included regional historic data, which showed that more than 57 percent of cities in the Americas and more than 61 percent of cities in Europe had seen a fall in PM10 and PM2.5 particulate matter between 2010 and 2016. But these gains were set against a worsening trend in other regions. The most rapid deterioration was in South and Southeast Asia, where more than 70 percent of poor cities suffered worsening air quality. The Middle East was also badly affected…” (Watts, 5/1).

Reuters: Through a fog of data, air of Indian cities’ looks dirtiest
“…Globally, outdoor air pollution has remained high and largely unchanged in the past six years, while household air pollution has gotten worse in many poorer countries, as people continue to cook with solid fuel or kerosene, instead of cleaner fuels such as gas and electricity. ‘The transition to clean fuels and technology in the home, clean household energy, is too slow. It’s been three decades and we still have three billion people primarily relying on (polluting) fuels and technologies, and that’s for cooking alone,’ said WHO technical officer Heather Adair-Rohani…” (5/1).

Additional coverage of the WHO Global Urban Ambient Air Pollution Database is available from BBC News, CBS News, The Guardian, Healio, The Hill, and Xinhua News.