Ankara has the most polluted air among the three big cities in Turkey. Even if Ankara residents do not smoke, they are exposed to the same effects as if they smoked 2 and a half cigarettes a day.
The world is getting polluted, the air we breathe is poisoned. Air pollution has a "smoking" effect on people's health.
The American research company Berkeley Earth started from this point and calculated how many cigarettes a day air pollution is worth.
Based on the calculation made by Berkeley Earth, which works on climate science, the World Health Organization examined 3 thousand cities. Air pollution rates in cities may change instantaneously, but the values are within the required limits in only one third of 3 thousand cities.
China's Shenyang city ranks first with 63 cigarettes per day.
According to the World Health Organization report, the countries with the worst conditions in terms of air pollution are China and India.
On the days when the air is most polluted in China, the harmful effect of pollution on human health is equivalent to approximately 3 packs of cigarettes.
China's Shenyang city ranks first with air pollution that affects as much as smoking 63 cigarettes a day.
44 cigarettes a day!
New Delhi, the capital of India, ranks second in the world. The latest level of air pollution in New Delhi means 19 million people unintentionally smoke 44 cigarettes a day.
This number, equivalent to two packs of cigarettes, is well above the dangerous limit for health.
What is the situation in Turkey's cities?
According to the report, the three provinces with the worst weather are Batman, Hakkari and Gaziantep. People living in these 3 cities seem to smoke more than 3 cigarettes a day.
When we look at the three major cities in Turkey, Ankara comes first in air pollution. Even if Ankara residents do not smoke, they are exposed to the same effects as if they smoked 2 and a half cigarettes a day.
Those living in Istanbul and Izmir seem to smoke an average of 1 and a half cigarettes a day. These two cities are reaching the European average with this result. In America, this value is half a cigarette.
Air pollution is considered the biggest environmental disaster in the world today.
In the report that reveals the world cigarette map, the most harmful air pollution is particles called PM 2.5. Inhaling these particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller directly affects our lungs and causes asthma or cancer. This causes damage to our body equivalent to smoking.
According to the research conducted by Berkeley Earth, the number of people who die every year due to air pollution in the world is more than those who die from AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and diabetes.