Only 13 countries, territories and regions globally met the World Health Organization's guidelines for healthy air quality last year, according to a new report from Swiss technology company IQAir. The company, which has worked with the United Nations Environmental Program, UN-Habitat and Greenpeace to combat air pollution, examined air data from more than 30,000 stations and sensors that monitor air quality from 7,323 cities across 131 countries, regions, and territories. Despite growth in recent years, procuring air quality data in Africa continued to be an issue. The WHO's air quality guidelines, implemented in 2021, were created for governments around the world to use as targets to reduce air pollution and ultimately improve people's health, the organization said. Only 13 countries and regions achieved normal air quality standards last year: Report originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Source: ABC News March 15, 2023 00:41 UTC