Almost no area of land on Earth has levels of air pollution deemed safe by the World Health Organisation, a new study has found.
Australian Monash University used machine learning to bring together perhaps the most comprehensive set of readings of daily ambient fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, across the globe.
Researchers found only 0.18 per cent of the global land area and 0.001 per cent of the global population are exposed to concentrations of PM2.5 below levels of safety recommended by World Health Organisation.
PM2.5 can be caused by a range of factors, including industrial processes, transport and even weather events such as dust storms.
Owing to its tiny size, PM2.5 can penetrate the thoracic region of the respiratory system, leading to increased risk of death from respiratory and cardiovascular conditions such as asthma and lung cancer.
Despite a slight decrease in high PM2.5 exposed days globally, by 2019 more than 70 per cent of days still had PM2.5 concentrations higher than 15 μg/m³. The WHO recommends annual average concentrations of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 µg/m3.
Globally, the annual average PM2.5 from 2000 to 2019 was 32.8 µg/m3.
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The study, published in Lancet Planetary Health, recorded drops in daily levels of fine particulate matter in Europe and North America in the two decades to 2019. But increases were seen in Southern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Levels of PM2.5 also vary according to season. High levels were detected in areas including north-east China and north India during their winter months of December, January, and February, “whereas eastern areas in northern America had high PM2.5 in summer months (June, July, and August)”, said Prof Yuming Guo from the Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine in Melbourne.
“We also recorded relatively high PM2.5 air pollution in August and September in South America and from June to September in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Prof Guo said the study should help with future decision-making on air quality.
“It provides a deep understanding of the current state of outdoor air pollution and its impacts on human health”, he said.
“With this information, policymakers, public health officials, and researchers can better assess the short-term and long-term health effects of air pollution and develop air pollution mitigation strategies.”
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Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
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Coffee: black death or elixir of life?
It is among the greatest health debates of our time; splashed across newspapers with contradicting headlines - is coffee good for you or not?
Depending on what you read, it is either a cancer-causing, sleep-depriving, stomach ulcer-inducing black death or the secret to long life, cutting the chance of stroke, diabetes and cancer.
The latest research - a study of 8,412 people across the UK who each underwent an MRI heart scan - is intended to put to bed (caffeine allowing) conflicting reports of the pros and cons of consumption.
The study, funded by the British Heart Foundation, contradicted previous findings that it stiffens arteries, putting pressure on the heart and increasing the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke, leading to warnings to cut down.
Numerous studies have recognised the benefits of coffee in cutting oral and esophageal cancer, the risk of a stroke and cirrhosis of the liver.
The benefits are often linked to biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols, which benefit the body. These and othetr coffee compounds regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and are associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, which is linked to type-2 diabetes.
But as doctors warn, too much of anything is inadvisable. The British Heart Foundation found the heaviest coffee drinkers in the study were most likely to be men who smoked and drank alcohol regularly.
Excessive amounts of coffee also unsettle the stomach causing or contributing to stomach ulcers. It also stains the teeth over time, hampers absorption of minerals and vitamins like zinc and iron.
It also raises blood pressure, which is largely problematic for people with existing conditions.
So the heaviest drinkers of the black stuff - some in the study had up to 25 cups per day - may want to rein it in.
Rory Reynolds
