What would the air (often referred to as “Mal’aria”) be like in Lombardy if the effects of climate change and air pollution did not undergo a decisive turnaround? The activists of Legambiente tried to imagine it who, with hyperbole, staged moments of daily life in an urban context with an air that has become unbreathable for man. Large gas masks to go shopping, eat at the bar, take a walk, take public transport.
In Europe 400 thousand deaths a year
The flashmob was organized a few weeks ago in Milan for the European Clean Cities campaign, as part of the Youth4Climate initiatives. The action aims to urge the national and regional authorities to act and activate the decisive measures to combat CO2 emissions and polluting emissions (PM10, PM2.5, nitrogen oxides and ozone). In the days of the COP26 staged in Glasgow, where the great of the Earth discuss pollution and climate change, the data released by the WHO, the World Health Organization, according to which 400 thousand premature deaths in Europe due to air pollution are back to topicality , and of these over 50 thousand in Italy (one of the most exposed countries).
The mask to protect yourself
Beyond the more dramatic consequences, there are also countless studies that confirm that pollution is a factor defined as “essential” also for the development of respiratory allergic pathologies affecting the nose and bronchi. “Clinical studies – explains Gennaro Liccardi, allergist and member of the Aps Scientific Committee, the association Respiriamo Together – have shown that the increase in pollution levels corresponds to an increase in these pathologies. In other words, pollutants reduce the efficiency of defense systems against toxic agents and facilitate the appearance of allergies “.
But there is a curious note: at the time of the pandemic, for the first time ever, it was shown that the use of masks in 2020 reduced the symptoms of allergic rhinitis, especially for spring pollen. “Other studies – continues Liccardi – have demonstrated the effectiveness of masks also against industrial or vehicular pollution: it is deduced that their use should be encouraged in these directions”.
The damage of pollution on children
Certainly a mask is not enough to save us. “The WHO data – adds Antonio Di Marco, medical director of the pediatric bronchopneumology unit of the Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome – report a high number of deaths in pediatric age, about 500 thousand a year, attributable to direct and indirect effects pollution: first of all, early exposure since pregnancy “. Not only that: “The respiratory rate in children – Di Marco comments – is higher, and therefore their exposure to pollutants is also higher. Even oral breathing, more frequent among the little ones, involves the loss of the natural nasal filter “.
Finally, Di Marco confirms among the most dangerous pollutants, there are fine particles Pm2.5, “able to evade the natural filters of the respiratory tract and more easily reach the lower airways where they exert their irritative action. It is necessary that science and politics increase their efforts so that polluting energy sources are replaced as soon as possible ”.
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