The Dirty Legacy of China’s and India’s Growth
Small particle pollution clearly is a huge problem but as so very often it’s the stuff you cannot see that’s way more dangerous. And I am not talking about CO2. If you can see that particles, they will give you respiratory problems and the children and elderly suffer most. If you cannot see the particles (nano-particles from modern diesel engines) they enter your body quicker than you can fish your meal, end up in the brain and even inside cells and will kill each and everyone. Nano-particulates are the great equalizer – they kill everyone and the only way to protect yourself is not to produce them. But all diesel engines do – especially EURO6.
The sixth-biggest cause of death globally is small-particle pollution, chemical specks that enter the lungs and can contribute to cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and infections. It led to more than 4 million deaths in 2016. Ninety-nine percent of children 5 years old and younger in South and East Asia breathe unhealthy air.
