A group of mothers from Brazil, the United Kingdom, India, Nigeria, Poland, and South Africa, including one whose daughter became the first person in the United Kingdom to have air pollution officially listed as her cause of death last year, arrived at the COP26 climate summit this week with a message for world leaders: stop funding fossil fuels, according to an report by the New York Times.
Six moms submitted a letter to Alok Sharma, the Glasgow gathering's president, on Friday, urging world leaders to take action to reduce air pollution and safeguard children who are suffering from its effects. Nearly 500 parent organisations from 44 nations signed the letter.
Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, whose 9-year-old daughter died of an asthma attack in 2013, stated, "I'm trying to obtain justice for my daughter." Ms. Kissi-Debrah said she discovered her daughter was not alone after reading studies regarding the hazards of air pollution.
In an interview, she stated, "This is harming so many youngsters."
As a growing body of evidence reveals, climate change has aggravated health hazards around the world, the impact of air pollution on human health has become a prominent concern at the summit.
More than a third of heat-related deaths in many parts of the world could be ascribed to the extra warming associated with climate change, according to a study published this year in the journal Nature Climate Change. Climate modelling in 43 nations was used in the study.
In addition, research have indicated that drier soil contributes to hunger and that rising temperatures have resulted in an increase in the number of dengue- and malaria-carrying mosquitoes.
According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is one of the most serious dangers to human health. Air pollution killed more Indians in 2019 than any other risk factor in Delhi, one of the world's most polluted cities. Children from impoverished households, who spend more time outdoors and are more likely to use wood-burning stoves, are at a considerably larger risk, according to a study by The New York Times.
According to a WHO research released in September, filthy air causes seven million premature deaths each year and poses health hazards such as impaired lung growth and function, respiratory infections, and asthma exacerbation. More than 90% of the world's population lived in locations where pollution concentrations exceeded WHO standards in 2019.
Kamila Kadzidlowska, a Polish activist who claimed that her three sons suffered from respiratory difficulties as a result of air pollution, said that her children's experience was not unusual.
Ms. Kadzidlowska, who signed the letter to officials, said at a New York Times event in Glasgow, "It's the tale of most of the parents of tiny children in Poland." "I never imagined I would have to struggle for something as basic as the ability to breathe clean air."
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