Seventeen million babies worldwide live in areas where air pollution runs six times the recommended limit, UNICEF reports. Excessive air pollution could put brain development at risk.
Image: Getty Images/K. Frayer
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According to a report released by the UN children's agency, UNICEF, on Wednesday, 17 million babies younger than 1 year old breathe toxic air. With 136 million children under the age of one globally, that equates to about one in eight worldwide.
The World Health Organization recommends that the level of pollutants in the air not exceed 20 micrograms per cubic meter (.02 parts per million). Contamination above that limit could prove potentially harmful for children, with risks growing as exposure does. Air pollution has known links to asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis and other respiratory infections.
"Not only do pollutants harm babies' developing lungs: They can permanently damage their developing brains — and, thus, their futures," UNICEF executive director Anthony Lake said.
The report urges parents to reduce children's exposure to harmful chemicals, including from tobacco products and cooking stoves. It also urged public authorities to invest in cleaner renewable energy and to make it feasible for children to travel at times of day with diminished pollution, as well as to zone major sources of pollution far away from schools, clinics and hospitals.
"No child should have to breathe dangerously polluted air — and no society can afford to ignore air pollution," Lake said.
Smog causes havoc across northern India and Pakistan
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'Reasons for concern'
Scientists have not conclusively proved findings about air pollution's effects on brain development, but a rapidly growing body of evidence creates "reason for concern," UNICEF's Nicholas Rees, the report's author, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Brain development in the first 1,000 days of a child's life influences how they will learn, grow and become "able to do everything that they want and aspire to in life," he said.
"A lot of focus goes on making sure children have good quality education — but also important is the development of the brain itself," Rees added.
Satellite imagery analyzed by UNICEF indicates that 12.2 million of the children exposed to severe air pollution live in South Asia. Another 4.3 million babies in the East Asia and Pacific region live in areas with pollution levels at least six times higher than the international recommendation. Though few places top six times the recommended pollution density, UNICEF reported in 2016 that overall 2 billion children breathed bad air.
At COP23 in Bonn, the world discusses emissions reductions. Meanwhile, Delhi is experiencing some of the worst smog ever.
Image: Picture-Alliance/AP Photo/M. Swarup
Twilight
As the nations of the world discuss strategies to reduce emissions at COP23 in Bonn, on the other side of the world, thick smog has engulfed the Indian capital Delhi.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Faget
Worst air champion
Smog is quite common in Delhi. In fact, the city on the Yamuna river is a sad record holder: it is the capital city with the worst air quality in the world.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Faget
Winter makes things worse
While the advent of winter doesn't bring snow in Delhi, it habitually makes conditions worse in the megacity. That's because the cooler air traps the smog close to the ground.
Image: Picture-Alliance/AP Photo/M. Swarup
That damn traffic!
An important contributor to smog is usually motorized traffic, which holds true for Delhi as well. Beyond that, farmers in nearby rural areas traditionally burn their fields after harvest, thereby making their own contribution to air pollution. This practice is technically banned but authorities tend to turn a blind eye.
Image: Imago/Hindustan Times
The festival of light
This year, Diwali added to the pollution. The Hindu festival of light not only brought a lot of traffic to the city, it also involved burning large amounts of firecrackers. And it goes on for five days!
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Hussain
Can't breathe, can't see
The smog in the city has gotten so thick that it has become difficult to breathe. It burns the eyes and throat and many people complain of headaches. It even obscures the sun.
Image: Reuters/A. Abidi
Face mask
People try to protect themselves against the fine particle pollution as best they can using scarves and face masks. But there is really no escaping it.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P. Singh
More than a little too high
On Wednesday, pollution levels in the city reached almost 30 times those considered safe by the World Health Organization.
Image: Reuters/S. Khandelwal
Pollution, the great equalizer?
Even heads of state can't escape the thick air. The Belgian King Philippe, inspecting a military guard of honor during his state visit to Delhi is shrouded in smog just like everyone else.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Swarup
Cheap fares and expensive parking
In a first measure to reduce pollution, the city government has targeted motorized transportation. By lowering fares on public transport and raising the fees for parking, it hopes to keep people from driving.
Image: Imago/Hindustan Times
No school this week
The chocking smog has also led the city to shut all schools for the remainder of the week.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Hussain
Protesting pollution
People in Delhi are fed up with the chronically bad air quality in their city. These women wearing face masks are on their way to a protest. So far, the city's response to the crisis has been half-hearted at best.
