AIR POLLUTION QUIZTo mark World Environment Day’s focus on air pollution on 5th June 2019,

here is our Air Pollution Quiz to help you to test your knowledge. We hope you enjoy uncovering interesting stats about the health

implications, causes and solutions of air pollution.

START THE QUIZ

How many premature deaths are there each year from air pollution?

650,000 65 million6.5 million

How many premature deaths are there each year from air pollution?

650,000 65 million6.5 million

Source: Prüss-Ustün, A., Wolf, J., Corvalán, C., Bos, R. and Neira, M. (2016). Preventing Disease through Healthy Environments: A Global Assessment of the Burden of Disease from Environmental Risks. World Health Organization. Link. Around 3.8 million premature deaths are caused by indoor air pollution each

year, the vast majority of them in the developing world.

NEXT QUESTION

bus pedestriancar cyclist

Which of these commuters are least exposed to air pollution on a street?

bus pedestriancar cyclist

Which of these commuters are least exposed to air pollution on a street?

Source: In a study of European cities, pedestrians were shown to be the “most consistently least exposed of all across studies”, compared to those on bus, bicycle and car. Audrey de Nazelle, Olivier Bode, Juan Pablo Orjuela, (2016) Comparison of air pollution exposures in active vs. passive travel modes in

European cities: A quantitative review. Link.

NEXT QUESTION

How many new child asthma cases a year are caused by vehicle pollution?

40,000 4 million400,000

Image (CC) Ted Barrera

How many new child asthma cases a year are caused by vehicle pollution?

40,000 4 million400,000

Image (CC) Ted Barrera

Source: Rajen N Naidoo (2019), NO2 increases the risk for childhood asthma: a global concern, The Lancet Planetary Health. Link.

NEXT QUESTION

Those living closest to major traffic arteries are how much more likely to be

diagnosed with dementia?

1.2% 120%12%

Those living closest to major traffic arteries are how much more likely to be

diagnosed with dementia?

1.2% 120%12%

Source: Chen, Kwong, Copes, Tu, Villeneuve, van Donkelaar, PhD et al. (2017), Living near major roads and the incidence of dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and

multiple sclerosis: a population-based cohort study, The Lancet. Link

NEXT QUESTION

6x more from wood

6x more from wind & solarroughly the same

If you look globally at how energy is created, is more created from burning

wood or from wind and solar put together?

6x more from wood

6x more from wind & solarroughly the same

If you look globally at how energy is created, is more created from burning

wood or from wind and solar put together?

Source: International Energy Agency, Key World Energy Statistics, 2018. Link.Wood is 6.9% of the world’s total primary energy supply, whereas solar and wind

are 1.2%. Solar and wind have been more than half the global new electricity capacity every year since 2015, and are generating around 7.5% of all electricity in

the world.

NEXT QUESTION

How many people use solid fuels and open fires for cooking, heating, and

lighting?

1 billion 5 billion3 billion

How many people use solid fuels and open fires for cooking, heating, and

lighting?

1 billion 5 billion3 billion

Source: United Nations Environment Programme, Actions on Air Quality, 2014. Link.

Natural Capital Partners works with its clients to finance improved cookstove projects to deliver emission reductions and sustainable development outcomes

across the world. Explore the projects here.

NEXT QUESTION

7-70 times thinner 700-7000 times thinner

70-700 times thinner

One important measure of air pollution is PM2.5: particles smaller than 2.5

micrometers. How big is 2.5 micrometers compared to

the width of a human hair?

Image (CC) tatsuhico

7-70 times thinner 700-7000 times thinner

70-700 times thinner

One important measure of air pollution is PM2.5: particles smaller than 2.5

micrometers. How big is 2.5 micrometers compared to

the width of a human hair?

Image (CC) tatsuhico

Source: PM2.5 refers to 2.5 micrometers (μm). Human hair has been found to be 17 μm to 181 μm Ley, Brian, Elert, Glenn (ed.), Diameter of a human hair, 1999,

The Physics Factbook

NEXT QUESTION

What percentage of the world’s waste is burned?

20% 60%40%

What percentage of the world’s waste is burned?

20% 60%40%

Source: Wiedinmyer, Yokelson and Gullett, Global emissions of trace gases, particulate matter, and hazardous air pollutants from open burning of domestic

waste, 2014. Link.Natural Capital Partners works with its clients to finance landfill to gas projects to

deliver emission reductions across the world. Explore the projects here.

NEXT QUESTION

a 35% drop in PM2.5

levels

the Olympic Games

a ban on burning coal

for heat

the closure all of its

coal power stations

Which of these did not happen in Beijing between 2013 and 2017?

a 35% drop in PM2.5

levels

the Olympic Games

a ban on burning coal

for heat

the closure all of its

coal power stations

Which of these did not happen in Beijing between 2013 and 2017?

The Olympic Games took place in Beijing in 2008. The measures were part of Beijing’s 2013 Clean Air Action Plan. It was costly and controversial. Four gas-

fired power stations were constructed and by 2017, 70% of Beijing’s power was estimated to come from outside of the city. Sources: China Dialogue, China releases 2020 action plan for air pollution, 2018. Link. and China Dialogue,

Goodbye to six decades of coal power in Beijing, 2017. Link.

NEXT QUESTION

Project Drawdown ranks the 80 top solutions to climate change in order of their emission reduction or removal potential in the next 30 years. Of the top 10 solutions,

how many would directly or indirectly improve air quality if implemented?

6 108

Project Drawdown ranks the 80 top solutions to climate change in order of their emission reduction or removal potential in the next 30 years. Of the top 10 solutions,

how many would directly or indirectly improve air quality if implemented?

6 108Source: Project Drawdown. The top 10 solutions are: Refrigerant Management,

Wind Turbines (Onshore), Reduced Food Waste, Plant-Rich Diet, Tropical Forests, Educating Girls, Family Planning, Solar Farms, Silvopasture, Rooftop Solar. All

solutions would either directly improve air quality or indirectly through reducing deforestation or the burning of fossil fuels. Link.

NEXT QUESTION

What percentage of India’s electricity mix is coal?

55% 95%75%

Image Copyright: SELCO

What percentage of India’s electricity mix is coal?

55% 95%75%

Image Copyright: SELCO

Source: MIT Technology Review, India’s Dilemma, 2019. Link. “The scale of renewables that India is trying to add in seven years took Germany two decades.

And we’re doing it much earlier in our development,” said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water. Natural Capital Partners delivers

carbon finance to help accelerate the growth of projects like Selco and India Solar Water Heating which use renewable solar power to help small businesses and

households have a reliable, clean and cheaper source of electricity.

NEXT QUESTION

Replacing open fires with wood-burning chimney stoves will reduce exposures to

PM2.5 by how much?

25% 85%55%

Replacing open fires with wood-burning chimney stoves will reduce exposures to

PM2.5 by how much?

25% 85%55%

Source: US Aid, Clean Cooking to Protect Maternal and Child Health, 2017. Link.

Natural Capital Partners works with its clients to finance improved cookstove projects to deliver emission reductions and sustainable development outcomes

across the world. Explore the projects here.

NEXT QUESTION

dressed statues with

masks

trained up kids to talk

on TV about air quality

sold jars of fresh air he

got from the countryside

dumped a trailer-full of coal at the town hall

got elected as a

green city councillor

Which of the following has Polish air quality campaigner Patryk Białas not done in coal-producing region

Katowice?

dressed statues with

masks

trained up kids to talk

on TV about air quality

sold jars of fresh air he

got from the countryside

dumped a trailer-full of coal at the town hall

got elected as a

green city councillor

Which of the following has Polish air quality campaigner Patryk Białas not done in coal-producing region

Katowice?

Source: Climate Reality Training, Berlin, June 2018

NEXT QUESTION

A 2016 Royal College of Physicians report on the lifelong impact of air

pollution had what name?

Every breath we take

The Prince of Fresh Air

Take my breath away

A 2016 Royal College of Physicians report on the lifelong impact of air

pollution had what name?

Every breath we take

The Prince of Fresh Air

Take my breath away

The report studied the impact of air pollution across the course of a lifetime. Link.

END QUIZ

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