IN THE NEWS
• Write an article for a popular newspaper on “Environmental Hazards” (WORD
LIMIT:100-150)
Answers
Answer:
According to two new World Health Organization reports, about 1.7 million children under the age of 5 die each year because of environmental hazards. It's the first such estimate of the child death toll from environmental causes.
"That terrible figure" makes up about a quarter of child deaths under 5, says Dr. Maria Neira, WHO's public health and environment department director and lead author on the reports.
The causes of death include respiratory diseases and illnesses spread by water pollution like diarrhea and intestinal infections, as well as non-communicable diseases like cancer, congenital diseases and asthma.
The report finds that indoor and outdoor air pollution is one of the most extreme hazards to children's health — and it's on the rise. Even though air pollution levels have dropped over the years in high-income countries, on average the global figures for air pollutants have risen 8 percent between 2008 and 2013, according to the WHO. Air pollution is associated with a majority of the 600,000 child deaths from respiratory illnesses each year.