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The Deadly Cost of Dirty Air

125 images Created 4 Feb 2021

Global Story on Air pollution shot in Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Iran, France and Spain.

Air Pollution accounts for seven million premature deaths a year and can be harmful even at low levels. But it’s a problem we can solve
Text from © Beth Gardiner.
"When Covid-19 began tearing around the globe, Francesca Dominici suspected air pollution was increasing the death toll. It was the logical conclusion of everything scientists knew about dirty air and everything they were learning about the novel coronavirus. People in polluted places are more likely to have chronic illnesses, and such patients are the most vulnerable to COVID-19. What’s more, air pollution can weaken the immune system and inflame the airways, leaving the body less able to fight off a respiratory virus.
Many experts saw the possible connection, but Dominici, a biostatistics professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, was uniquely equipped to test it. She and her colleagues have spent years creating an extraordinary data platform, one that aligns information on the health of tens of millions of Americans with a day-by-day summary of the air they’ve been breathing since 2000. Dominici explained it to me last summer on a video call from her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her pandemic puppy, a black Lab, squirmed on her lap. In London, where I sat in my home office, the brief respite in traffic provided by the initial lockdown had ended, and diesel fumes once again clouded the air."

_____________
Focus on Mongolia:
Kids suffer most in one of Earth's most polluted cities. In winter, coal stoves and power plants choke Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, with smoke - and lung disease.

Air pollution in a global phenomenon. 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality exceeds the World Health Organization guideline limits (WHO).
WHO estimates that around 7 million people die every year from exposure to fine particles (Pm 2.5) in polluted air that lead to diseases such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections, including pneumonia. Worldwide more deaths per year are linked to air pollution than to automobile accidents.
In the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator, the combination of climate change, an increasing population, limited infrastructure and heavy dependence on coal has created one of the worst cases of air pollution in the world.

Images and Videos here:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/03/mongolia-air-pollution/

https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17842403014494815/?hl=en
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  • Air pollution in the Dari Ekh Ger district. One of the main reason for air pollution is the unplanned rapid urbanization of Mongolia's capital. It results in uncontrolled coal burning, used for cooking and heating.
    i9007_190119_1291.jpg
  • A trace of ash from the coal fire is visible on the forehead. This was applied by the mother to ward off evil spirit during a night where the kids had nightmares. <br />
Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan specializing in treating children with lung diseases, such a  pneumonia.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_3783.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2472.jpg
  • Meeting with activists based in Sukhbaatar square in the center of the capital. They link the air pollution to several corruption cases that have involved polititians and the mining industry.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190125_4416.jpg
  • Entrance of one of the coal-fired power plant located on the edge of the city. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190120_1555.jpg
  • Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan. Children are treated for lung disease. Children treated for pneumonia. Getting a lung xray. Lungs showing fluid.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190118_0364.jpg
  • A local street coal seller in Bayankhoshuu, one of the worst polluted neighborhood of Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190122_3122.jpg
  • A pregnant woman’s exposure to air  pollution can harm her baby, increasing the risk of birth defects or childhood cancer. At the Pasqual Maragall Foundation in Barcelona, Spain, researchers are studying whether it also affects a baby’s brain development.
    MM9396_201104_2140-2.jpg
  • Visible air Pollution hangs over the city.<br />
Calcutta, India
    Calcutta_1018_1519.jpg
  • Visible Air pollution on the outskirt of Noida, near Delhi, India.
    DSCF9592.jpg
  • A slash and burn fire gets out of hand in Madhya Pradesh. Agriculture fires are a huge factor for bad air pollution in India.
    DSCF22992.jpg
  • In a wheat field, a slash and burn fire gets out of hand in Madhya Pradesh. Agriculture fires are a huge factor for bad air pollution in India.
    DSCF23013.jpg
  • After a vast forest fire, a firefighting truck hoses a mix of pressured water and wetting agent deep into the ground. The lower part of the humus is still smoldering and ejecting smoke and CO2, so it's important to reach deep in the ground.
    MM9396_200918_1310.jpg
  • Firefighting Canadair planes dropping water with wetting agent on top of fire.<br />
<br />
Views from inside the helicopter of the Fire and Rescue Departmental Service. Spotting pine trees forest fires and analysing evolution of fire to best direct firefighters on the ground as well as indicating locations to drop water for firefighting planes.<br />
Near Bordeaux, France.
    MM9396_200918_0456.jpg
  • Views from inside the helicopter of the Fire and Rescue Departmental Service. Spotting pine trees forest fires and analysing evolution of fire to best direct firefighters on the ground as well as indicating locations to drop water for firefighting planes.<br />
Near Bordeaux, France.
    MM9396_200918_0570-2.jpg
  • View of the jungle affected by huge Palm oil plantation in Central Kalimantan.<br />
Indonesia.
    Kalimantan_191104_1751.jpg
  • Huge area of jungle have been destroyed by yearly fires.<br />
Kalimantan, Indonesia.
    Kalimantan_191104_1805.jpg
  • Dressing up her kids with air pollution masks before going out. The Otgonbaatar family live in a Ger District particularly affected by air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2382.jpg
  • Smokestacks from one of the coal-fired power plant located in the city.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190122_3090.jpg
  • Visit during nap time of a Kindergarten in the Bayanzurkh District. Each room is equipped with an air purifier, in an attempt to lower the level of indoor air pollution. Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2288.jpg
  • Traffic jam on a newly built highway on the outskirt of Delhi, India.
    DJI_0968.jpg
  • Visible air pollution above a polluted open air sewage in Noida, near Delhi, India.
    DJI_0989.jpg
  • In Bhalswa district, north Delhi, a village is located right below one of the giant open air garbage dump which burns 24/7, creating toxic fumes.<br />
India
    MMi53110_160405_1299.jpg
  • The Ghazipur open air garbage dump in Delhi. The constantly burning garbage creates toxic fumes that spread through the city.<br />
Garbage trucks can carry 3T and do about 800 trips a day.<br />
India
    MMi53110_160407_2896.jpg
  • A woman burns old luggages to collects metal in it. Located next to a lake, a visit to one of the main garbage dump in Kolkata. With 15 millions population in 2019 and growing, the city of Calcutta is a typical case of expansion through uncontrolled urbanization.<br />
Calcutta, India
    Calcutta_1018_0293.jpg
  • Garbage collectors in smog. A visit to one of the main garbage dump. With 15 millions population in 2019 and growing, the city of Calcutta is a typical case of expansion through uncontrolled urbanization.<br />
Calcutta, India
    Calcutta_1018_0418.jpg
  • Recyclers in Bhalswa, on top of one of the giant open air garbage dump which burns 24/7, creating toxic fumes.<br />
Delhi, India
    MMi53110_160405_1451.jpg
  • Air pollution in downtwon Ulan Bator near one of the coal-fired power plant located on the edge of the city. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190120_1541.jpg
  • View over polluting cement factory in Dorud city, Lorestan province. <br />
The building industry is responsible for a big part of the air pollution worldwide. Iran
    TA0025_180806_1757.jpg
  • Views of Ahvaz, a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz has some of the worst air pollution in the world.<br />
Iran
    TA0025_180803_0055.jpg
  • After a vast forest fire, a firefighting truck hoses a mix of pressured water and wetting agent deep into the ground. The lower part of the humus is still smoldering and ejecting smoke and CO2, so it's important to reach deep in the ground.<br />
Near Bordeaux, France
    MM9396_200918_1295.jpg
  • Mining area of Central Kalimantan. The old growth forest has been cut off to gain access to the mines.<br />
Kalimantan, Indonesia.
    Kalimantan_191104_1791.jpg
  • After a first passage of the firefighting brigade, looking at devastation of a pine forest fire on the ground.<br />
Near Bordeaux, France
    MM9396_200918_1003.jpg
  • Evening air pollutiuon, mostly due to coal-fired stoves, in Bayankhoshuu, one of the worst polluted neighborhood of Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190122_3142.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190126_4681.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190126_4804.jpg
  • Green Crown is an independant Laboratory that specializes in analyzing air quality using high-end equipment. They have found that governement air quality reports are routinely reported below the actual air quality level.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190122_2857.jpg
  • A pregnant woman’s exposure to air  pollution can harm her baby, increasing the risk of birth defects or childhood cancer. At the Pasqual Maragall Foundation in Barcelona, Spain, researchers are studying whether it also affects a baby’s brain development.<br />
Spain.
    MM9396_201104_2401.jpg
  • Air pollution in downtwon Ulan Bator near one of the coal-fired power plant located on the edge of the city. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190120_1541.jpg
  • Morning in Bayankhoshuu, a particularly polluted neighborhood.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_3711.jpg
  • Aerial shots showing air pollution at night over Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2658.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190123_3461.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_0676.jpg
  • People come play on the ice of the Tuul river, on the edge of the city, especially on week ends, to escape the city air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190120_1820.jpg
  • A dump on the edge of Ulan Bator. Plastic is burning and animal skeletons are left to dry.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190123_3301.jpg
  • Dogs. Air pollution and city views from the Dari Ekh ger district neighborhood.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190125_4569.jpg
  • After school, a boy plays basketball in teh street. Based in a depression, the Bayankhoshuu ger district is one of the most polluted in Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_4218.jpg
  • Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan. Children are treated for lung disease. Children treated for pneumonia.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190118_0112.jpg
  • Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan. Children are treated for lung disease. Children treated for pneumonia.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190118_0135.jpg
  • Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan. Children are treated for lung disease. Children treated for pneumonia.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190118_0300.jpg
  • Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan. Children are treated for lung disease. Children treated for pneumonia. Getting a lung xray.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190118_0318.jpg
  • MRI scans of 36 days old baby named Praga with her mother and technician and nurse wearing scrub. At the Foundation Pasqual Maragall, a young infant is first prepared, then a series of MRI scans are performed on her brain as part of a study on the impact of Air pollution. The results show a correlation between the level of air pollution that the pregnant mother breathes during her pregnancy, and how it affected over time the brain of the baby.<br />
Spain
    MM9396_201104_2434.jpg
  • Visit during nap time of a Kindergarten in the Bayanzurkh District. Each room is equipped with an air purifier, in an attempt to lower the level of indoor air pollution. Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2226.jpg
  • Visit during nap time of a Kindergarten in the Bayanzurkh District. Each room is equipped with an air purifier, in an attempt to lower the level of indoor air pollution. Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2274.jpg
  • Visit during nap time of a Kindergarten in the Bayanzurkh District. Each room is equipped with an air purifier, in an attempt to lower the level of indoor air pollution. Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2130.jpg
  • Visit during nap time of a Kindergarten in the Bayanzurkh District. Each room is equipped with an air purifier, in an attempt to lower the level of indoor air pollution. Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2297.jpg
  • Visit during nap time of a Kindergarten in the Bayanzurkh District. Each room is equipped with an air purifier, in an attempt to lower the level of indoor air pollution. Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2300.jpg
  • Visit during nap time of a Kindergarten in the Bayanzurkh District. Each room is equipped with an air purifier, in an attempt to lower the level of indoor air pollution. Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2305.jpg
  • At a Family Health Center in Uliastai, William Abi Abdallah, an eco efficiency specialist working for Unicef uses thermal heat detector to determine ways to improve the air tightness of a building. The main goal is to improve the indoor air quality, using air purifier and reducing the  outside polluted air from entering the building.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190122_2767.jpg
  • Green Crown is an independant Laboratory that specializes in analyzing air quality using high-end equipment. They have found that governement air quality reports are routinely reported below the actual air quality level.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190122_2899.jpg
  • Air pollution in the Dari Ekh Ger district. One of the main reason for air pollution is the unplanned rapid urbanization of Mongolia's capital. It results in uncontrolled coal burning, used for cooking and heating.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_1235.jpg
  • Air pollution in the Dari Ekh Ger district. One of the main reason for air pollution is the unplanned rapid urbanization of Mongolia's capital. It results in uncontrolled coal burning, used for cooking and heating.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_1239.jpg
  • Based in a depression, the Bayankhoshuu ger district is one of the most polluted in Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_4281.jpg
  • Air pollution in the Dari Ekh Ger district. One of the main reason for air pollution is the unplanned rapid urbanization of Mongolia's capital. It results in uncontrolled coal burning, used for cooking and heating.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_1313.jpg
  • Evening air pollutiuon, mostly due to coal-fired stoves, in Bayankhoshuu, one of the worst polluted neighborhood of Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190122_3213.jpg
  • Guard dog. Based in a depression, the Bayankhoshuu ger district is one of the most polluted in Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_4272.jpg
  • Mongolians play an old version of curling, sliding anklebones on ice. Early morning around the Tuul river, on the edge of Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_0563.jpg
  • People come play on the ice of the Tuul river, on the edge of the city, especially on week ends, to escape the city air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190120_1737.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2419.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190126_4757.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190126_4858.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2458.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2508.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2542.jpg
  • Evening air pollution in the Bayankhoshuu Ger district.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190120_1840.jpg
  • Raw coal of poor quality, coming from illegal mines, is sold on the streets of Ulan Bator in the Tsaiz Zakh market.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_1922.jpg
  • Raw coal of poor quality, coming from illegal mines, is sold on the streets of Ulan Bator in the Tsaiz Zakh market.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2035.jpg
  • Raw coal of poor quality, coming from illegal mines, is sold on the streets of Ulan Bator in the Tsaiz Zakh market.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2077.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_0649.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_0761.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_0779.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_0817.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_0859.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190119_0865.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190123_3552.jpg
  • Visit of a coal refinery. Refined coal is the product of the application of a coal-upgrading technology that removes moisture and certain pollutants from lower-rank coals and raising their calorific values. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190126_4890.jpg
  • A trace of ash from the coal fire is visible on the forehead. This was applied by the mother to ward off evil spirit during a night where the kids had nightmares. <br />
Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan specializing in treating children with lung diseases, such a  pneumonia.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_3763.jpg
  • Checking on a new-born lungs. Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan specializing in treating children with lung diseases, such a  pneumonia.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_3863.jpg
  • Visiting the District Hospital of Songinokhairkhan specializing in treating children with lung diseases, such a  pneumonia.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_3866.jpg
  • The Otgonbaatar family live in a Ger District particularly affected by air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190121_2337.jpg
  • A coal-fired power plant located on the edge of the city. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_3901.jpg
  • A coal-fired power plant located on the edge of the city. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_3908.jpg
  • Close up of smokestack from a coal-fired power plant.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190126_4935.jpg
  • This family settled here 4 years ago and never returned to the countryside.  The expanding Baga Naran Ger district on the edge of Ulan Bator.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_3954.jpg
  • Life in the illegal coal mines of Nailakh on the edge of Ulan Bator. Burning fossil fuels is the primary source of both climate-warming emissions and health-damaging air pollution. Miners are particularly exposed to the dangerous fine Pm2.5 particles that enters the bloodstream.<br />
Old Russian buildings used to process coal.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190123_3628.jpg
  • A dump on the edge of Ulan Bator. Plastic is burning and animal skeletons are left to dry.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190123_3293.jpg
  • The expanding Baga Naran Ger district on the edge of Ulan Bator. Views on the coal-fired power plant.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190124_4014.jpg
  • People fetching water. Air pollution and city views from the Dari Ekh ger district neighborhood.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190125_4527.jpg
  • Dirty snow from air pollution.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190125_4396.jpg
  • A parked car covered in pollution particles.<br />
Mongolia
    i9007_190122_2809.jpg
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View: 100 | All