Towards zero-pollution cities

Abstract

Air pollution is a global killer and predominantly an urban one. Worldwide, about 7 million premature deaths are associated with indoor and outdoor air pollution by fine particulate matter. Most occur in urban areas where a majority of people now live, breathing air that can cause asthma, respiratory infections, high blood pressure, heart and lung disease, and cancer. Diverse cities – rich, poor, small, large, developed and developing – are reporting airborne levels of these particles that exceed the World Health Organization’s clean air guidelines: some of the most polluted air, and the heaviest toll on human lives, occur in Asia.