The George Washington University study estimates that the pollutant causes disease in children in over 13,000 cities. Cases decreased in Europe and the US between 2000 and 2019 thanks to anti-pollution measures
Cases decreasing between 2000 and 2019 – The researchers also monitored the new cases of asthma that developed in children from 2000 to 2019: the results show that an estimated 1.85 million new cases of pediatric asthma attributed to NO2 in the world in 2019. two thirds are located in urban areas.
Positive effects of anti-smog measures – Monitoring also made it possible to verify the positive effects of the recent measures implemented by some countries to reduce air pollution in urban areas, with a decrease in the percentage of pediatric asthma cases linked to NO2 from 20% in 2000 to 16% in 2019.
However, these improvements only affect Europe and the United States, while in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East the air is still heavily polluted and NO2 emissions are on the rise.
Nitrogen dioxide linked to 13% of asthma among children – “Our study revealed how nitrogen dioxide exposes children at risk of asthma – says Susan Anenberg, co-author of the study and professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at George Washington University -. The results suggest that the air cleanliness must be a fundamental part of strategies to keep children healthy. ” A previous study by George Washington researchers found NO2 to be linked to about 13 percent of pediatric asthma cases worldwide and up to 50 percent of those in the 250 most populated cities.