Fueled by forest fires, Prince George, Quesnel, and Williams Lake were among the worst cities in the world for air pollution last August.
That’s according to Greenpeace that a released a report Tuesday and stated we need to act on climate change more robustly for the sake of our well-being and our environment.
All three communities had air pollution levels ‘deemed’ unhealthy by World Health Organization standards and roughly five times their 2018 average.
“The kind of particulate matter that we’re talking about can enter a person’s bloodstream quite easily-it’s thinner than a human hair,” said Greenpeace Canada’s senior forest campaigner, Eduardo Sousa.
“It can range from exacerbating to already occurring asthma problems to actually inducing asthmatic attacks in people.”
The world’s 10 worst cities for air pollution for August 2018 were:
- Padre las Casas, Chile
- Hotan, China
- Bhiwadi, India
- Anderson, California, USA
- Chelan, Washington, USA
- Fairdabad, India
- Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada
- Coyhaique, Chile
- Prince George, British Columbia, Canada
- Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA
Williams Lake clocked in at number 13 and Council opted in August to purchase ten air purifiers units for City-owned facilities.