The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report reveals that climate change, forest fires, and air pollution are harming human health, while also severely affecting agriculture, ecosystems, and global economies.
WMO’s latest air quality bulletin, released on International Day of Clean Air, highlights how toxic air particles harm crops, reducing yields by up to 15% in highly polluted regions.
India, Pakistan, China, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia are hotspots where pollution particles reduce crop yields, threatening food security and exacerbating economic, environmental, and health crises.
Agricultural practices like burning crop residues and using fertilizers contribute to fine particulate pollution, impacting air quality and further harming both crop productivity and environmental sustainability.
Forest fires, exacerbated by climate change, release harmful pollutants like PM 2.5, which significantly degrade air quality, damage crops, and increase global carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.
WMO emphasized the intricate link between air pollution and climate change, explaining how pollutants that reduce air quality also drive the emission of greenhouse gases, intensifying both crises.
Pollution's impact on ecosystems is severe, as toxic air particles settle on land, harming natural ecosystems, reducing biodiversity, and affecting vital services like clean water and carbon storage.
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