We knew that air pollution was pervasive and felt by our precious lungs, but we may not have expected to see it with our own eyes, especially inside Southern Cross railway station in Melbourne.
And yet, that is what one Redditor photographed and shared with the members of r/Melbourne.
According to 2024 data, nitrogen dioxide levels in parts of the station are regularly more than 90 times the recommended limits set by the World Health Organization, ABC reported. Therefore, it may not come as a surprise that the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning took so long before agreeing to release more than 500 pages of air pollution reports.
The leading respiratory experts the media interviewed last year explained that in parts of the station, air pollution was so high that it jeopardized human health. However, both the government and Civic Nexus, the operator of Southern Cross, have said that the railway station was meeting all requirements.
Exposure to air pollution has been linked to many illnesses, including ischaemic heart disease and stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and lung cancer. According to the WHO, it constitutes one of the greatest environmental risks to child health.
Some have looked to reduce air pollution through creative methods. U.K.-based startup earth4Earth, for example, is developing earth-based bricks that can basically eat air pollution. Meanwhile, scientists in Finland have found a groundbreaking way to turn air pollution into plastic.
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But as prevention will always be better than the cure, the only way to improve the quality of the air that we breathe is to try to live a more environmentally-friendly life. This can mean ditching your car for public transport when possible, or upgrading to electric yard tools in an effort to consume less dirty fuels.
Back to Australia, where some Redditors have chosen the way to go about this data: laugh rather than cry.
"Sounds scary I know, but rest assured, Civic Nexus [has] advised 'yeah, nah, it's fine, don't worry 'bout it, we ain't worried 'bout it'," one user commented. "Now, when it comes to human health, you've gotta ask yourself: who are the real experts, the World Health Organization, whose expertise is health on a global metric, or Civic Nexus, who operates an entire train station, you heard me right, a whole station!"
Another user said, "One of the most polluted stations in the world actually."
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One commented, "It has to be doing damage."
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