The hazy plume from the Canadian wildfires has given people in the northeastern United States a sense of what it is like in parts of the world where a struggle with the quality of their air is more routine. Air pollution was responsible for 6.67 million deaths worldwide in 2019, mostly in North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and East Asia. Air pollution mainly comes from burning things: coal in power plants, gasoline in cars, chemicals in factories, or wood and whatever else ignites in wildfires. In China, cities have been choked by dusty, toxic air since the 1980s. But poor air quality has lingered, worsened by winds carrying soil and sand from the Gobi Desert over northern China, including Beijing.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 08, 2023 11:49 UTC