Over 92 pct of people in Türkiye exposed to polluted air: Report

ISTANBUL

More than 92 percent of Türkiye's population is exposed to polluted air based on World Health Organization (WHO) standards, with routine air quality checks being rarely conducted across the country, according to a report prepared by the Right to Clean Air Platform (THHP).

The research claims that authorities in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir provinces do not appropriately and routinely assess particulate matter PM10 and carcinogenic PM2.5, which contribute to air pollution.

The infrastructure for monitoring air quality is present in Türkiye yet it is not being used efficiently in this sense, the platform’s coordinator, Deniz Gümüşel, pointed out in her remarks at the press conference conducted for the promotion of the report.

The national legislative limit for air pollution is set at a maximum of 40 micrograms per cubic meter. Air pollution levels in Istanbul and Ankara are nearing this limit, while İzmir's levels exceed the standard.

According to the report, the top 10 provinces in the country with the highest PM2.5 readings are also the ones with the greatest percentage of air pollution-related mortality. Accordingly, the southeastern city of Hakkari emerged as the province with the highest air pollution levels and fatality rate, overtaking the Batman province, which had held the top spot the year before.

A total of 68,440 fatalities could have been avoided in 2022 if the average PM2.5 levels in all of the provinces had been lowered to the WHO recommended value of 5 micrograms per cubic meter, according to Professor Dr. Çiğdem Çağlayan, a public health specialist.

“Air pollution was a contributing factor in 14.2 percent of all deaths among those over 30 years old in 2022, excluding fatalities from accidents, injuries and COVID-19,” she pointed out.

One of the report’s most notable revelations, according to Professor Dr. Gamze Varol, was also the link between air pollution and breast cancer.

Research done in the United States found that people who lived in areas with higher PM2.5 exposure had an 8 percent higher incidence of breast cancer, Varol said.