This is an automatically translated article.
Recently, air pollution in Hanoi due to environmental incidents or the dense concentration of smog causing air pollution in Ho Chi Minh City is receiving great attention from the public. So how does air pollution affect human health?
1. Nature of air pollution
Air pollution exists all around us and is difficult to avoid, even for those living in affluent developed areas. Visible concentrations of smog in the air do not reflect how clean the environment is. Around the world, environments in both cities and countryside have toxic pollutants in the air that exceed the WHO-recommended mean air quality values. In the euro area, nearly every citizen is affected by air pollution. Every year, more than 90% of people are exposed to outdoor concentrations of fine dust particles that are higher than the WHO air quality targets. The organization says online pollution meters will help people better understand the air pollution in the place where they live than with the naked eye.
Các hạt bụi mịn với kích thước nhỏ hơn 2,5 micron là đáng bận tâm nhất, vì chúng có khả năng xâm nhập sâu vào phổi
Nitrogen oxides (NOx); Sulfur oxide (SOx); Carbon monoxide (CO); Lead; Ground-level ozone; Suspended atmospheric particles. Among them, fine dust particles with a size of less than 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) deserve the most attention, because they have the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs, affecting both the respiratory system and the vascular system. . Whether or not people's health is seriously affected will depend on the extent and duration of exposure to polluted air.
Trắc nghiệm: Bận rộn có ảnh hưởng đến sức khỏe của bạn không?
Cuộc sống hiện đại khiến chúng ta vì quá bận rộn mà quên chăm sóc sức khỏe cho chính mình. Ai cũng biết rằng lịch trình làm việc cả ngày có thể khiến bạn kiệt sức, nhưng cụ thể bận rộn ảnh hưởng thế nào tới sức khỏe? Hãy cùng làm thử bài trắc nghiệm dưới đây.
2. How does air pollution affect human health?
Air pollution is currently considered the world's biggest environmental health threat. Half of the world's population does not have access to clean fuels or technologies, 9 out of 10 of these people are breathing polluted air, and up to 7 million people are killed each year because of air pollution. .
The level of air pollution affecting human health is very serious, equivalent to the harm of smoking, and much higher than the impact from the habit of eating too much salt. Specifically, one-third of all deaths from stroke, lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases are attributable to air pollution. Microscopic pollutants in the air can pass through the body's immune system, penetrate deep into the respiratory and circulatory systems, and then gradually damage the lungs, heart and brain of people.
Air pollution is both a cause and an exacerbating factor for a number of diseases, from asthma to cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, ventricular hypertrophy, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and mental complications. Depression, autism, retinopathy... Fine and ultra-fine dust particles - one of the main components of polluted air, have been classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. People.
The impact of air pollution on human health is of increasing interest as studies have demonstrated a link between several serious diseases across different age groups and air pollution. Such as:
Neurological and psychological complications; Eye irritation; Skin diseases; Long-term chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer... Affect the growth and development of the fetus, causing premature birth, low birth weight. According to a recent estimate by the World Health Organization, exposure to polluted air is a risk factor for several diseases more dangerous than previously thought. Air pollution is the biggest contributor to the environmental burden of diseases.
Ô nhiễm không khí là tác nhân lớn nhất dẫn đến gánh nặng bệnh tật có nguồn gốc từ môi trường
3. Air pollution and climate change
Air pollution is closely related to climate change, in which the burning of fossil fuels both causes climate change and is a major contributor to air pollution. Therefore efforts to mitigate climate change can also improve polluted air, and vice versa. Recently, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that if coal-fired thermal power production does not end by 2050, the Earth's temperature will rise by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. and we could see a major climate crisis within the next 20 years.
If efforts to reduce air pollution can meet the goals set out in the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, approximately 1 million lives worldwide will be saved each year. In terms of economic damage, addressing the health problems caused by air pollution is estimated to cost more than 4% of the GDP of the 15 biggest greenhouse gas emitters.
WHO believes that today's polluting energy sources pose a huge health burden, so there is an urgent need to move to cleaner and more sustainable options to power and transport food systems. products effectively. The first global conference on air pollution and health will raise awareness of public health harms and risks, as well as share information on the effects of air pollution.
Along with population growth and global warming, the air that people breathe every day is also being seriously polluted because industrial engines and processes continue to emit a lot of gas. dirty. Air pollution affects human health, is the cause of many diseases and a major factor in high morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries like Vietnam. Therefore, practical measures to reduce air pollution in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City are very important and need more attention and investment.
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Reference source: World Health Organization WHO
