世衛組織是聯合國系統內衛生問題的專門機構，希望更有效地監控全球空氣質量。而要切實推動空氣質量改善，就得了解空氣污染如何影響全球人口。因此，世衛組織新近的報告既評估了各國的空氣污染程度，也評估了由此導致的各種疾病，包括致死率。

研究表明，亞洲中部國家空氣污染最嚴重，中國并沒有排第一，而是在埃及、土庫曼斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、烏茲別克和阿富汗之后，名列第六。美聯社報道稱，世衛組織的空氣污染水平排名由空氣污染導致死亡人數而定，死亡人數最多的四個國家是空氣污染防治最不力的國家。

《紐約時報》稱，雖然不少人認為中國空氣污染非常嚴重，但北京大學此前的一項研究認為，過去三年，北京和香港等五大城市的顆粒物水平——衡量空氣中有毒物質含量的指標實際上有所下降。

世衛組織報告稱，全球92%的人口生活在空氣污染程度不符合健康標準的地區。這意味著，全球每十人之中就有不只九人生活在空氣污染超標的環境中，貧困國家的情況還更嚴重。

“將近90%的空氣污染致死案例發生在低收入和中等收入國家，且近三分之二在世衛組織劃定的東南亞區域和西太平洋區域。” 世衛組織如此下結論。

汽車尾氣、發電廠、垃圾焚燒，垃圾填埋排放和養殖家畜都是室外空氣污染的來源。世衛組織認為，各種污染源給人類造成嚴重的健康問題，如肺癌、肺病、心臟病和中風。這些疾病都有可能致命，在高質量醫療護理極為有限的低收入國家，空氣污染致死比例尤其高。

世衛組織稱，每年約有300萬例死亡與室外空氣污染有關。僅2012年，約有650萬例死亡與空氣污染有關，約占當年全球死亡人數的11.6%。

世衛組織將空氣污染定性為 “當今世界面臨的最大環境健康威脅。”空氣污染目前影響超過80%的城市居民，每年導致至少700萬人喪生。（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審校：夏林

The agency, which is a specialized division of the United Nations, wants to better monitor the world’s air quality. But in order to make improvements, it needs to understand how air pollution affects the global population. So the latest report evaluates both the level of exposure in certain countries and the resulting burden of disease each country carries, including death.

Turns out, air pollution is highest in Central Asian countries, but not the one you might think: China ranks in sixth place, trailing behind Egypt, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rankings are determined by the number of air pollution-related deaths, with the top four being the worst offenders, according to the Associated Press.

While we associate China with excessive air pollution, an earlier study from Peking University determined that the country’s particulate matter levels—which gauge the amount of toxins in the air—have actually declined over the last three years in five of the nation’s major cities, including Beijing and Hong Kong, according to the New York Times.

Taken together, 92% of the world’s population lives in regions where air quality levels exceed the healthy limit. That’s more than nine out of 10 people, with even worse numbers in poor countries.

“Nearly 90% of air-pollution-related deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, with nearly two out of three occurring in WHO’s South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions,” the WHO concluded.

Vehicle exhaust, power plants, waste burning, landfill emissions, and livestock promotion are all forms of outdoor air pollution. These contribute to serious health problems, like lung cancer, pulmonary disease, heart disease, and stroke, according to the WHO. And these diseases can eventually lead to death, especially in a low-income country where access to quality health care is limited.

About three million deaths a year are linked to outdoor air pollution exposure around the world and an estimated 6.5 million people died from air quality-related health issues in 2012 alone—about 11.6% of all global deaths that year, according to the WHO.

The organization considers air pollution “the single greatest environmental threat we all face.” It now affects more than 80% of people living in cities and kills at least 7 million people each year.