Air pollution

Air pollution has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. An international team of scientists has found that air pollution has caused more than 100,000 deaths in tropical cities. The researchers analyzed air quality data for 46 metropolitan areas across Africa, Asia and the Middle East using instruments aboard NASA and European Space Agency satellites from 2005 to 2018. In all cities, experts have found a significant annual increase in the content of pollutants that are directly hazardous to health. For example, nitrogen dioxide increased by 14 percent, fine particles by eight percent, ammonia by 12 percent, and volatile organic compounds by 11 percent.