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As the World marks “International Day of Clean Air for blue skies”, Nigerians have been urged to desist from acts that will continue to pollute the atmosphere.
A lecturer in the Department of Forest Resources Management, University of Ilorin Dr. Folaranmi Babalola gave the advice in an exclusive interview with correspondent Lanre Omotoso in Ilorin.
Dr. Babalola identified air pollution as a global problem, which impacts human health, planetary health and climate change, hence the need to prevent air pollution to make environment beneficial to human being.
Speaking on this year theme “Healthy Air, Healthy Planet.”, the Associate Professor of Forest Socio-Economics said air pollution is the largest environmental risk to global public health.
He noted that about Ninety percent of the population is exposed to polluted air causing an estimated seven million premature deaths each year.
The university lecturer emphasized that polluted air negatively impacts children, women and the elderly, with increased links to diseases such as dementia, diabetes, COVID-19, cardio-vascular and neurological diseases.
Dr Babalola stressed that usage of wood and charcoal for cooking as well as fossil fuels for transportation and electricity would always amount to worst air quality.
United Nations in 2019 at the Seventy-Fourth session of General Assembly established September Seven as International Day of Clean Air for blue skies to raise awareness and facilitates actions to improve air quality.
