Need
The World Athletics Clean Air Programme is aiming to improve the conditions in which elite and amateur athletes train and compete, by partnering with global organizations leaders in Sustainability like UNEP, and in Air Quality research and management like IDAEA-CSIC and the ISGlobal; to create a global network of Air Quality monitoring stations located primarily in Stadiums and urban race-tracks all over the world.
In the summer of 2018, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s largest city with 3.4 million inhabitants, was in full swing in terms of its population, household income and economy and with its air pollution.
From a social sustainability dimension, athletics was a way of making a living in Ethiopia, with elite athletes such as Kenenisa Bekel (2:01:41 in the Berlin Marathon) or Haile Gebrselassie (27 world records) dedicating their lives to the competition.
The few studies conducted have consistently shown that average PM2.5 concentrations in Ethiopia were as high as 280 µg/m3 in 24-hour measurements.
There was therefore an urgent need for more evidence-based research on the potential adverse consequences of exposure to air pollutants during exercise, including decreased lung function and exacerbation of asthma and exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.
