Air pollution has become a real threat to life on earth. It threatens the lives of many people on earth and is the cause of many deaths. We still remember the emergency that hit India in 2022. This disaster prompted the entire international community to come to the aid of vulnerable populations. Even if this unprecedented situation seems unprecedented, air pollution is a phenomenon that dates back to the industrial revolution.

In recent years, human activities have contributed significantly to the increase in air pollutants. This pollution directly affects human health with all kinds of infections and associated diseases on the one hand, but also life on a planetary scale on the other. To illustrate this second point, we can cite the greenhouse effect. This natural phenomenon, which has helped to keep the earth's temperature within livable proportions for several thousand years, has been exacerbated in recent centuries. Today, this natural phenomenon threatens the global climatic balance, resulting in an increase in global temperatures, the melting of glaciers, the multiplication of extreme climatic phenomena, etc.

At first glance, the link with pollution is not direct. But if you take a step back, you quickly realise that air pollution is a driver of the greenhouse effect, because the gases produced by human activities that pollute the atmosphere are also the cause of the greenhouse effect. These include CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and so on. The international community agrees that the situation is extremely serious and should be tackled with all available means.

One of the most accessible means available is nature, at its most beautiful: vegetation. When they photosynthesise, plants absorb carbon dioxide to release oxygen. During this process, the air is purified and organic matter useful for life on earth is produced. This actually means that the life of a plant is beneficial both to itself and to the living world around it. So by planting trees in urban areas, preserving intact natural forests and facilitating the establishment of new forests, we are helping to make the world a better place and to combat life-threatening phenomena like pollution. Every time we plant and protect a tree, we are saving the planet on some scale.

So let us be heroes of our wonderful home, the earth. Let's protect its lush canopy, help it grow and make it our battle horse against air and water pollution. Are you ready to take up the challenge?