Compiled by Satyaki Dutta
Business travel faces a major recent problem as it is plagued by air pollution. Among the world’s top 10 most visited cities (especially in North America and Europe) just three cities can take pride in clean air: New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Most cities in Asia are at a hazardous level, while some of the Middle East cities are marked as extremely hazardous.
One of the leading travel management companies researched air quality of the top 100 business cities frequented by their customer base. According to their published report, just 10 percent of the world breathes clean air, Regionally, only North America and Southwest Pacific is relatively safe, others have cities with air pollution levels ranging from moderate to hazardous or extremely hazardous. According to WHO’s 2018 report, nine out of 10 people inhale highly polluted air. It results in approximate seven million deaths per year owing to household and outdoor air pollution.
Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public Health, Social and Environmental Determinants of Health, WHO asserted, ‘Many of the world’s megacities exceed WHO’s guideline levels for air quality by more than five times.’
WHO measures a wide range of concentrations of fine particulate matter pollutants in the air.
Short-term exposure to high air pollution levels leads to irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, according to the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. These negative health effects have a huge economic impact worldwide, which costs amount to almost US$6 trillion every year. According to the data, in the top 10 most-visited destinations worldwide, six cities have moderate air pollution, of which Berlin has the highest. Shanghai, the only Asian city in the top 10, has a hazardous level of air pollution with possible severe health consequences.
For a more clear view, we can analyse it according to regions. Europe is well represented in the list of top business destination, with London (ranked 2), Berlin (4), Munich (5) and Stuttgart (10) all in the global Top 10, isn’t completely safe, though. According to a 2018 report by the European Environment Agency, 68 percent of air monitoring stations in the region exceeded WHO guidelines for PM2.5. In case of cities in Germany, the pollution level is alarmingly high.
Among the Top 100 business destinations analysed, North American cities ranked the cleanest overall. However, there was an exception in 2018, due to wildfire smoke. For a brief period in August, the most-polluted major cities on the planet were Vancouver, British Columbia, Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. Wildfires burning for weeks had transformed a region known for clean air into a dangerous place to breathe.
In Latin America, air pollution is one of the leading environmental issues, caused by industrial emission and fuels burned for energy and transportation. Here, the Air quality and climate change affect huge population and natural areas, resulting in premature deaths and ecosystem damage.
The United Nations Environment Program calls air pollution Africa’s ‘invisible killer.’ Increasing urbanization coupled with poor planning results in many people’s lives in congested and poorly constructed housing, which actually increases pollution problem.
Air pollution is a widely recognized problem in the Middle East, especially in Saudi Arabia. Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain also have extreme levels of PM2.5. Much of the region’s air pollution stems from sand storms originating in the desert and it has also increased by population growth, urbanization, industrialization and so on.
Some of the highest recorded levels of air pollution are in Asia. It exposes roughly 92 percent of the population or about 4 billion people to air pollution, resulting in a serious health hazard. According to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, continued economic growth and urbanization will worsen air pollution unless governments take more action.