Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay Have 'World's Cleanest Air,' Says New WHO Study

Paraguay has some of the cleanest air in the world, according to a new World Health Organization study. The report, published in April 2014, found that the Brazilian city of Salvador de Bahía is the zone with the cleanest air in Latin America, however, Paraguay is not far behind. Uruguay, Argentina and Costa Rica were all found to have cleaner air than much of the world. Notwithstanding, the report shows that in most places around the world, pollution is on the rise.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) more than half of the world population is living in cities with pollution levels 2.5 times higher recommended by the agency. Analyzing 600 cities from around the world, the report found that just 12 percent of the global population is living in cities that breathe clean air. “The most important thing to note is that the situation is worse in most places, especially in developing countries,” said Maria Neira, Director of Public Health and Environment of WHO.

In most cities around the world, pollution is also getting progressively worse. In Latin America, the countries at the bottom of the clean air list include Peru, Chile, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. A number of factors contribute to this including a dependency on fossil fuels, a reliance on motor vehicles for transport and the inneffecient use of energy in buildings. The findings, published in April of this year, revealed that pollution was the cause of death for 3.7 million people under the age of 60 in 2012 alone.