世卫组织报道，九成儿童遭受空气污染之害

根据世界卫生组织（WHO）的一份新报告，全球超过9成的儿童正在吸入污染空气，危害他们的健康和发育。

无论是烹饪还是加热燃料、城市交通还是工业排放，造成的空气污染都会影响儿童的神经发育，损害他们的认知能力。世卫组织报告称，空气污染还可能引发哮喘和儿童期癌症，加剧他们日后罹患慢性病的风险。仅2016年一年，估计有60万儿童死于空气污染。

“空气污染正在毒害数百万儿童，毁掉他们的生命。”世卫组织总干事谭德赛在声明中说。“这是不可原谅的。每个孩子都应该能呼吸干净的空气，这样他们才能健康成长，充分实现个人潜能。”

报告称，全球15岁以下儿童中有93%（18亿）暴露在超过世卫组织指南标准的PM2.5（环境细颗粒物）中。

低收入国家的数字更触目惊心。根据世卫组织的数据，低收入和中等收入国家5岁以下儿童中，98%都暴露在高于推荐水平的PM2.5浓度中，高收入国家的这一比例是52%。

世卫组织表示，相较成人，儿童更容易受到空气污染的危害，因为他们的呼吸更急促，每次吸入的污染物更多，而他们的身体正在发育。此外，某些污染物在距离地面较低的高度浓度达到峰值，这恰恰是儿童的呼吸高度。

“空气污染正在阻碍孩子们的大脑发育，以超出我们预想的方式影响他们的健康。但是，有很多方法可以直接减少危险污染物的排放，”世卫组织的主任玛利亚·内拉博士在一份声明中表示。

其中包括使用干净的烹饪加热燃料和技术。世卫组织还鼓励减少使用化石燃料，优化城市废物管理。世卫组织首届全球空气污染和健康大会于10月30日至11月1日在日内瓦总部召开，议题包括防止空气污染的各类有效途径。（财富中文网）

译者：Agatha

More than 90% of children around the world breathe polluted air that can harm their health and development, according to a new report by the World Health Organization.

Air pollution—whether it’s from cooking and heating fuels, urban transportation, or industrial output—can affect a child’s neurodevelopment, hurting their cognitive ability. It can also lead to asthma, childhood cancer, and a greater risk for chronic diseases later in life, says the WHO report. In 2016, an estimated 600,000 children died as a result of air pollution.

“Polluted air is poisoning millions of children and ruining their lives,” Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said in a statement. “This is inexcusable. Every child should be able to breathe clean air so they can grow and fulfill their full potential.”

Globally, 93% of children under 15 years of age—1.8 billion children—are exposed to levels of PM2.5 (ambient fine particulate matter) above WHO guidelines, according to the report.

The numbers are worse in lower-income countries. According to WHO, 98% of all children under 5 in low- and middle-income countries are exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 than recommended, compared to 52% of children under 5 in high-income countries.

Children are more at risk from air pollution than adults due to the fact they breathe more rapidly, therefore absorbing more pollutants at a time when their bodies are still developing, WHO states. Additionally, some pollutants reach peak concentrations lower to the ground, where children are breathing.

“Air Pollution is stunting our children’s brains, affecting their health in more ways than we suspected. But there are many straight-forward ways to reduce emissions of dangerous pollutants,” Dr. Maria Neira, a director at WHO, said in a statement.

This includes using clean cooking and heating fuels and technologies. WHO also supports the reduced use of fossil fuels and better municipal waste management. These and other methods of preventing air pollution was discussed at WHO’s first Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health, which held at the WHO headquarters in Geneva from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.