A new global study has shared that only seven countries in the whole world have air that is clean and safe to breathe, based on the analysis from the Swiss air technology company, IQAir. This means that a lot of people on Earth are breathing air that is too dirty. This is a big problem, because dirty air can make people sick. The main thing they looked at was called PM2.5. These are tiny dust-like particles in the air. When we breathe them in, they can go deep into our lungs and harm our health. The WHO says that safe air should have no more than 5 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter. But in many places, the amount of PM2.5 was much higher than that.

The seven countries who have met the WHO’s safe air guidelines are:
Australia
New Zealand
Iceland
Finland
Estonia
Grenada
Mauritius

Some countries have extremely bad air quality, especially in parts of Asia and Africa. These places had very high levels of PM2.5: Chad, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Democratic Republic of Congo

Governments could clean their air with policies such as funding renewable energy projects and public transport; building infrastructure to encourage walking and cycling; and banning people from burning farm waste. This new study is a wake-up call for the world. Air is something we all need, every single day. But most of us are breathing air that is not safe. If we want to live longer, healthier lives, and leave behind a better planet for future generations, we must take air pollution seriously.

This story and image were sourced from The Guardian page and was edited prior to publication.
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