Out of the world’s 100 most polluted cities, 94 are in India, China, and Pakistan.
Here’s a look at air quality around the world and the impact air pollutants have on our health 👇 aje.io/2suxut
How is air quality measured?
Air quality is determined by the levels of air pollutants PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
Particulate matter (PM) comprises tiny particles that negatively impact health aje.io/nb94se
Which cities are the most polluted in the world?
In 2020, India had 46 of the world’s 100 most polluted cities, according to air quality tracker IQAir.
Hotan, in western China’s Xinjiang, had the worst average air quality in 2020, with 110.2 aje.io/nb94se
What impact does air pollution have on our health?
More than 90% of the world’s population lives in areas where air pollution exceeds WHO limits
Air pollution is linked to a number of illnesses including asthma, diabetes, and heart disease aje.io/nb94se
How deadly is India's pollution?
In 2019, 1.67 million deaths in India were caused by air pollution, according to the Lancet.
While replacing solid fuels with alternatives have lowered deaths since 1990, deaths related to ambient PMs have increased aje.io/nb94se
What is a smog tower?
Some cities in India and China have installed smog towers to try to tackle air pollution.
They work within a 1km (0.6-mile) radius, supposedly cutting PM2.5 levels by 50%. But questions remain over how efficient they really are aje.io/nb94se
Save the Children reports that thousands of missing Palestinian children are trapped under rubble, buried in unmarked graves, harmed by explosives, detained by Israeli forces, or lost in the chaos of the war on Gaza.
Israel’s top court has ordered the government to provide information about conditions inside the military facility Sde Teiman, where Palestinians from Gaza are detained.
Malnourished Palestinian children are being treated at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, as Israel continues to restrict aid to the besieged enclave.
The UN is adding Israel to its 'blacklist' of countries that have committed abuses against children in armed conflict, as more than 15,500 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7.
An Israeli air attack on a home in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in northern Gaza has killed at least four Palestinians and injured 14 more, the Wafa news agency reports.
Two Palestinian men have been shot during an Israeli raid in the Aqabat Jabr camp in the occupied West Bank city of Jericho, the Wafa news agency reports.
Qatar, Egypt and the US urge Israel and Hamas to conclude a ceasefire agreement that embodies the principles outlined by US President Biden, amid Israel's continuing bombardment of besieged Gaza.
Alexandra Saieh, head of humanitarian policy and advocacy at Save the Children, has told Al Jazeera that “Gaza is witnessing the worst levels of malnutrition, of child malnutrition especially, worldwide right now.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has denounced far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for threatening to dissolve Benjamin Netanyahu’s government if he were to accept President Biden’s new ceasefire deal.
On May 29, South Africans will head to the polls to vote in national and provincial elections to elect a new National Assembly, which will choose the president for the next 5 years.
Here’s a guide to the elections and major political parties ⤵️
South Africa follows a proportional voting system where parties and candidates compete for 400 seats in the National Assembly.
For the first time, independent candidates will compete in the elections with voters given three ballots instead of two.
Who is in South Africa’s current National Assembly?
South Africa’s lower house of parliament currently includes 14 political parties represented by 400 members, allocated proportionally based on the votes each party received in the 2019 elections.
Israel calls the ICJ binding order to immediately stop its attack on Rafah “outrageous, morally repugnant and disgusting” as it continues its war and bombardment of Gaza.
The Elders group of world leaders has said “no country is above the law” and Israel’s “unlawful approach” to its war on Gaza cannot continue following the ICJ’s order to halt attacks on Rafah.
US Senator Bernie Sanders warned the US that if it ignores “crimes against humanity” being committed in Gaza, it will not have the credibility to criticise “the actions of any country, no matter how terrible.”