Even in cities where local pollution levels were below the World Health Organization’s recommended daily exposure limit, a new study has found that bad air quality can lead to respiratory symptoms at lower exposure levels than previously thought. That’s due to the human respiratory system being extremely sensitive to short-term fine particulate matter fluctuations even in relatively clean urban environments.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, Tsinghua University in China and the sleep technology company Sleep Cycle found that when pollution levels increased by 10 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic metre (μg/m³), there was a 2.4% rise in coughing levels over the next five days.
