Updated World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines Highlight the Importance of Non-anthropogenic PM_2.5.

ABSTRACT: The World Health Organization recently updated their air quality guideline for annual fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposure from 10 to 5 μg m^-3, citing global health considerations. We explore if this guideline is attainable across different regions of the world using a series of model sensitivity simulations for 2019. Our results indicate that >90% of the global population is exposed to PM_2.5 concentrations that exceed the 5 μg m^-3 guideline and that only a few sparsely populated regions (largely in boreal North America and Asia) experience annual average concentrations of <5 μg m^-3. We find that even under an extreme abatement scenario, with no anthropogenic emissions, more than half of the world's population would still experienc

SUBMITTER: Pai SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9202349 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature