Air pollution is one of the gravest concerns that leads to climate change. From New Delhi to Sau Paolo, the biggest cities around the world have become a gas chamber leading to a rise in premature deaths through respiratory diseases.
In order to give the people around the world a glimpse of the severity of air pollution, ‘pollution pods’ have been installed at the UN’s climate conference COP25 in Madrid.
Visitors are asked to spend a couple of minutes in these pollution pods. These pods consist of fog machines that use safe innovative perfume blends to make an imitation of the air quality in several polluted cities in the world including São Paulo, New Delhi, Beijing, and London, reports News 18.
One of the pods also represents the air quality of Trondheim, the city of Norway with the most pristine and clear air to compare low pollution to the other higher polluting cities.
After spending a few minutes in the pollution pods designed by Scottish artist Michael Pinsky, people complained about itchy eyes, disorientation, and shortness of breath.
WHO has declared air pollution as a public health priority. According to the data collected by the organization, air pollution poisons nine out of ten people in the world. It also kids 60,00,00 children prematurely every year.
Stressing on the importance of curbing air pollution, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO said, “We need to agree unequivocally on the need for a world free of air pollution. We need all countries and cities to commit to meeting WHO air quality guidelines.”
“The true cost of climate change is felt in our hospitals and in our lungs. The health burden of polluting energy sources is now so high, that moving to cleaner and more sustainable choices for energy supply, transport and food systems effectively pays for itself,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. “When health is taken into account, climate change mitigation is an opportunity, not a cost, she added.
Teresa Ribera, Minister for the Ecological Transition of Spain, said, “Air pollution and climate change are the two sides of the same coin. The symbolic installation of the Pollution Pods at COP25 should remind everybody that we are negotiating for cleaner environments, cutting emissions and gaining better health for all.”
The pollution pods will be open for the public at the climate conference between December 2 to December 13. Air pollution has already put the entire environment and mankind on stake. It is certainly the need of the hour to take measures to curb pollution.
Cover Image Source: Left