The cost of air pollution and sea degradation is estimated to be over three percent of GDP in some of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to a newly published report by the World Bank. In the MENA region’s largest cities, air pollution levels rank highly on a global scale. The report states that, on average, an urban resident will breathe in air that exceeds over 10 times the level of pollution deemed safe by the World Health Organization (WHO). Air pollution reportedly results in 270,000 deaths a year — more than traffic accidents, diabetes, and more common causes for death combined — and the average MENA resident falls ill for at least 60 days in their lifetime to due air pollutant exposure. The report reveals that the annual economic cost of air pollution in the MENA region is also devastating, at an estimated USD 141 billion. Sea degradation accounts for a significant percentage of pollution in the region, with the average annual cost of marine plastic waste pollution ranking at 0.8 percent of GDP, as per the World Bank report. Pollution not only degrades the region’s…
Air Pollution Costs MENA Region $141 Billion Annually: World Bank
February 11, 2022
