It is no surprise that those who live in the city are breathing bad quality air, as more than 80 percent of people are apparently thriving in urban areas who are exposed to toxic air, that are well beyond pollution limits in a city, according to a new report by the World Health Organization.

Like Us on Facebook

However, those who are living in the poorest cities in the world are suffering the most, as the report also reveals that 98 percent of cities that consist of more than 100,000 citizens in populations, from low to middle income nations, apparently do not meet the guidelines of the WHO. For higher income countries on the other hand, this number significantly drops to 56 percent.

These countries in the low to middle income spectrum originate from the Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asian regions, have the highest recorded pollution levels where their annual mean levels often surpass five to ten times the limits of the WHO. The report also reveals an alarming trend, as two thirds of those cities and areas are getting worse, as pollution levels increase by more than five percent in a span of just five years. Those urban areas with significantly lower levels of pollution are mostly seen in the Americas, Europe, Western Pacific regions.

These results are based from the organization's database that has now twice the amount of information recorded from the past two years, now including 3,000 cities across 103 countries. Scientists and researchers warn that the effects of air quality gone bad include the prevalence of more health issues such as heart disease, stroke and lung cancer.

According to WHO director Maria Neira, for the department of public health, environmental and social determinants of health, urban air pollution is increasing at an alarming rate, that continues to wreak havoc on human health. Awareness is crucial for monitoring air quality and when air quality improves, global cardiovascular and respiratory diseases significantly decrease.

In total, all the urban cities in the world continue to increase their pollution levels by eight percent in the last five years. In correlation to this, the landmark Paris agreement was approved last year which is now being ratified last month to cut down global emissions and ultimately fight climate change.

According to coordinator of interventions for healthy environment at the World Health Organization, Carlos Cora, in light of this new report, it is crucial for city and national governments to prioritize their urban air quality health and development. It s only logical that when air quality improves, pollution related diseases continue to fall, and work productivity increases and ultimately, life expectancy extends further.

TagsUN, WHO, air pollution, city air pollution, urban air pollution