WHO: 4 in 5 city dwellers live in overpolluted urban areas

WHO: 4 in 5 city dwellers live in overpolluted urban areas

By Joshua Berlinger, CNN

Updated 0133 GMT (0933 HKT) May 13, 2016

(CNN)If you live in a city, odds are you're dealing with unhealthy levels of pollution, according to a new study from the World Health Organization.
New research released Thursday found that air quality levels exceed WHO limits for 80% of those living in urban areas that track air pollution, putting people more at risk for respiratory diseases, stroke, heart disease and lung cancer.
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Global air pollution also rose 8% from 2008 to 2013.

Cities with the most PM10 pollution

Onitsha, Nigeria

Peshawar, Pakistan

Zabol, Iran

Kaduna, Nigeria

Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Cities with the most PM2.5 pollution

Zabol, Iran

Gwalior, India

Allahabad, India

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia
"Urban air pollution continues to rise at an alarming rate, wreaking havoc on human health," says Dr. Maria Neira, the WHO director of the Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. "At the same time, awareness is rising and more cities are monitoring their air quality. When air quality improves, global respiratory and cardiovascular-related illnesses decrease."
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The data was particularly worrisome for poorer cities -- 98% of those in "low- and middle-income" countries with more than 100,000 people didn't meet the WHO guidelines, compared to 56% in "high-income"countries.
The WHO estimates that air pollution causes upwards of 3 million premature deaths every year.
Welcome to Baoding, China's most polluted city

This week, Beijing <a href="http://cnn.com/2015/12/07/asia/china-beijing-pollution-red-alert/index.html">issued its first red alert </a>for hazardous pollution, closing schools, restricting traffic and shutting construction sites. Residents tell CNN what it's like to live in the smog-cloaked city.
6 photos: Beijing smog: What's it like to breathe the air?
This week, Beijing issued its first red alert for hazardous pollution, closing schools, restricting traffic and shutting construction sites. Residents tell CNN what it's like to live in the smog-cloaked city.

Half of the cities in high-income countries and more than a third in low-income and middle-income countries reduced pollution levels by 5% in five years.
And, 3,000 cities in 103 countries are now tracking pollution statistics. That's double the number of cities compared to two years ago.
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The study tracked the growth in the two different sizes of particulate matter, PM10 and PM2.5, per cubic meter of air.
PM2.5 particles are fine, with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers (µm) to more than 40 micrometers, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
PM10 particles are less than or equal to 10 micrometers in diameter.