An estimated 4.3million deaths occur yearly as a result of indoor air pollution from home cooking, while roughly a 3.7million deaths happen as a consequence of outdoor contamination; according to former Minister of Industries, Chief Dr. Nike Akande.
Akande who presented a keynote address at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Annual Research Conference and Fair, which held on Tuesday stated that pollution, especially in a household leads to respiratory ailments such as asthma, sore throat, eye problems, among others.
Based on him, dust from bad streets, emission from vehicles, burning of wastes, bush burning, hammering and coal mining amongst others improve air pollution, which affects human beings and results in premature deaths.
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She identified water pollution as another threat facing humankind, adding that climate change impacts water quality and water ecosystems.
“The International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) posits that global surface temperature has increased by 0.74 degrees centigrade in the previous 100 decades. Global warming is therefore not strange.”
“Extreme weather conditions leading to increased temperatures will result in floods and droughts that will affect water quality and quantity. For instance, throughout the draught period, there is an increase in pollutant concentration. It’s interesting to note that a draught affects water quality as physical bacteria and other elements tend to flow in the water.
According to the World Health Organization, about 2million people die from polluted water yearly while an estimated 115 people in Africa die every hour from ailments associated with poor sanitation, poor hygiene and contaminated water.
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Dr Akande cautioned that as fever continues to rise, farmers from urban communities around the world will face more challenges by raising weather patterns impacting production leading to a high rate of land degradation.
“Going by the World Bank Projection, climate change affects livestock production. Empirical evidence has demonstrated that climate change impact will be more prominent in developing nations especially those in Africa. Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cost approximately 250,000 additional deaths and the direct harm to health could rise to $4billion by 2030 based on the United Nations. The continuous change in climate will also affect species in Africa including Nigeria,” she said, calling on the production industry to embrace available technologies.
The conference themed,’ Saving the Earth’, held in a time of surroundings dangers from air pollution.
