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Asian smog cloud threatens millions, says UN
London, Aug 12: A three-km thick cloud of pollution shrouding southern Asia is threatening the lives of millions of people in the region and could have an impact much further afield, according to a United Nations-sponsored study.
London, Aug 12: A three-km thick cloud of pollution shrouding southern Asia is threatening the lives of millions of people in the region and could have an impact much further afield, according to a United Nations-sponsored study.
It said the cloud, a toxic cocktail of ash, acids, aerosols and other particles, was damaging agriculture and changing rainfall patterns across the region which stretches from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka. The lives of millions of people were at risk from drought and flooding as rainfall patterns were radically altered, with dire implications for economic growth and health.
"We have an early warning. We have clear information and we already have some impact. But we need much, much more information," UN Environment Programme chief Klaus Toepfer told a news conference.
"There are also global implications not least because a pollution parcel like this, which stretches three km high, can travel half way round the globe in a week."
Toepfer said the cloud was the result of forest fires, the burning of agricultural wastes, dramatic increases in the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, industries and power stations and emissions from millions of inefficient cookers.
He said the UN's preliminary report into what it dubbed the 'Asian Brown Cloud' was a timely reminder to the upcoming Earth Summit in Johannesburg that action, not words, was vital to the future of the planet.
"The huge pollution problem emerging in Asia encapsulates the threats and challenges that the summit needs to urgently address," he said. "We have the initial findings and the technological and financial resources available. Let's now develop the science and find the political and moral will to achieve this for the sake of Asia, for the sake of the world," he added. Bureau Report
It said the cloud, a toxic cocktail of ash, acids, aerosols and other particles, was damaging agriculture and changing rainfall patterns across the region which stretches from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka. The lives of millions of people were at risk from drought and flooding as rainfall patterns were radically altered, with dire implications for economic growth and health.
"We have an early warning. We have clear information and we already have some impact. But we need much, much more information," UN Environment Programme chief Klaus Toepfer told a news conference.
"There are also global implications not least because a pollution parcel like this, which stretches three km high, can travel half way round the globe in a week."
Toepfer said the cloud was the result of forest fires, the burning of agricultural wastes, dramatic increases in the burning of fossil fuels in vehicles, industries and power stations and emissions from millions of inefficient cookers.
He said the UN's preliminary report into what it dubbed the 'Asian Brown Cloud' was a timely reminder to the upcoming Earth Summit in Johannesburg that action, not words, was vital to the future of the planet.
"The huge pollution problem emerging in Asia encapsulates the threats and challenges that the summit needs to urgently address," he said. "We have the initial findings and the technological and financial resources available. Let's now develop the science and find the political and moral will to achieve this for the sake of Asia, for the sake of the world," he added. Bureau Report