Air Pollution Sounds the Alarm

Air Pollution Sounding the Alarm NGOs and institutions gathering under the umbrella of the Cooperation Project for Environment, Climate and Health (ÇİSİP) have called on Turkey to adopt the World Health Organization's (WHO) revised guideline values for air pollutants as binding limit values. Air pollution ranks among the greatest environmental health threats globally and stands as one of five major risk factors for non-communicable and chronic diseases. Following comprehensive research revealing air pollution's impact on health to be greater than previously assumed, the WHO has decided to revise its air pollution guideline values. For PM_2.5, the carcinogenic fine particulate matter most harmful to human health, the limit value has been lowered from an annual 10 μg/m³ to 5 μg/m³, and from a daily 25 μg/m³ to 15 μg/m³ (μg/m³: micrograms per cubic meter). For PM₁₀, another significant pollutant causing cardiovascular and respiratory disease, the annual value has been reduced from 20 μg/m³ to 15 μg/m³, and the daily value from 50 μg/m³ to 45 μg/m³. For nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), primarily derived from fossil fuels used in transportation, the annual value has been cut from 40 μg/m³ to 10 μg/m³. The WHO, which last revised these values in 2005, states that adherence to the new guideline values would prevent air pollution-related deaths worldwide. Dr. Melike Yavuz from the Public Health Specialists Association (HASUDER) stated: "Scenario analyses were conducted to assess the health gains achievable upon reaching the WHO's recommended new air quality limit levels. According to these analyses, if countries reach the WHO's recommended annual level for PM_2.5, approximately 80 percent of deaths attributable to PM_2.5 exposure globally could be prevented. This is encouraging and achievable."

Nowhere in our country is air quality at healthy levels!

Experts in the ÇİSİP network have pointed out that air pollution in Turkey exceeds the limit values recommended by the WHO for protecting human health—in other words, air pollution is sounding the alarm in Turkey. Prof. Dr. Çiğdem Çağlayan, from the Department of Public Health at Kocaeli University School of Medicine, stated: "Breathing clean air is both a human right and the most fundamental requirement for health. The new limit values established by the WHO on the basis of comprehensive scientific evidence represent the air quality levels necessary for protecting public health worldwide. Unfortunately, in 2019, more than 90 percent of the global population, particularly in low and middle-income countries, lived in areas where the limit values set for PM_2.5 were exceeded. According to the WHO's newly announced air quality limit values, air quality is at unhealthy levels nowhere in our country. Therefore, we must urgently tackle air pollution while taking into account the new limit values."  

Box 1

Measurements Fall Short in Turkey

 

• Larger particles of particulate matter in polluted air (PM₁₀) settle to the ground rapidly, while some particles (PM₅), approximately 1/30 the thickness of a human hair, can travel kilometers as a result of meteorological events. When carcinogenic PM_2.5 is inhaled, it can interfere with gas exchange in the lungs and enter the bloodstream. PM_2.5 is an indicator pollutant used worldwide when examining health problems caused by air pollution.
• In Turkey, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization measures air pollution using more than 350 ground-level stations. However, there are gaps in PM₅ and NO₂ measurements.
• Turkey's largest pollutant source is fossil fuels used in electricity generation, heating, transportation, industry, and agriculture. NO₂ in Turkey originates primarily from fossil fuels used in energy production, followed by transportation.
• When calculating the health impact of air pollution, attention must be paid not only to pollution levels but also to the size of the affected population. Approximately 80 percent of Turkey's population lives in urban areas.
• Air pollution is linked to the climate crisis. Improving air quality will represent an important step in tackling the climate crisis; conversely, reducing emissions that cause climate change will improve air quality.

Box 2

Air Pollution in Turkey

Box 3

Air Pollution in Europe