202008americas_brazil_PM concentration_0819

In August 2019, 19 municipalities in Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará and Rondônia had critically poor air quality, according to government data (see Figure 3). On average, PM 2.5 concentrations were between 50 and 132 micrograms per cubic meter on any given day of the month, between two and five times the maximum threshold of 25 micrograms set by the WHO to protect health. In another 71 municipalities across the region, average PM 2.5 levels exceeded 25 micrograms, the maximum set by the WHO, ranging above 25 and up to 50. A total of 2,884,092 people residing in these 90 municipalities were exposed to these harmful pollution levels. Source: System of Environmental Information Integrated to Health (SISAM)