* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)
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The measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic led several people to stay home and not drive, especially during the periods of lockdown, which first brought about an improvement in air quality.
However, with the onset of normalization, air pollution saw a decrease in some periods while it increased in others.
As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), according to the data collected by the air quality measurement stations of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the rate of particulate matter (PM10) air pollution did not change in 2021 when compared to the previous year.
Some highlights from the data are as follows:
According to the data collected by the air quality measurement stations of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality in November 2021, the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) air pollution increased across the city in the period of January 1, 2021 and November 12, 2021.
In this 10-month period, the NO2 air pollution saw a 5-percent increase when compared to the same period of the previous year, when lockdown days due to the COVID-19 pandemic were more frequent.
According to the "Dark Report 2021: Air Pollution and Health Effects" report of the Right to Clean Air Platform, the level of carcinogen fine particulate matter (PM.25) could not be sufficiently measured in Turkey's 42 cities in 2020. When the data on 72 cities with sufficient data on PM10 levels were examined, it was seen that air pollution was above national limits in 45.
Focusing on the air quality in the country in the past 5 years, the report noted that there was an increase in the number of air quality measurement stations in 2020. However, as the official mortality data was not announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) for 2020, the number of deaths caused by air pollution could not be specified.
According to the report, the average PM10 in 2020 was below the previous years in İstanbul. However, experts warned that even this level was two times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values. The PM10 air pollution in İstanbul's Mecidiyeköy, Sultangazi, Esenyurt and Alibeyköy districts was three times more than the WHO guidelines.
The particulate matters with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers may lead to premature deaths by infiltrating deep into lungs. Moreover, the nitrogen dioxide emitted from cars, lorries and coal-fired power plants and the ozone level on earth may cause premature deaths.
According to the United Nations (UN) data, seven million people lose their lives because of air pollution across the world every year. This rate is as high as the deaths caused by smoking and poor eating habits.
Also, 91 percent of the world population live in geographies where the air quality is lower than the limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO says that 4.2 million deaths are caused by outdoor air pollution across the world every day. 3.8 million deaths are caused by being exposed to the cookers used at homes and running on dirty fuels. (TP/SD)