The problem of air pollution is mostly affected by the amount of cars in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and the index of air pollution is about 69.62. 

 

According to a study for the World Bank, air pollution kills 15,000 Colombians every year. But only about 8,000 of these deaths are from the outdoor pollution that we normally worry about, particularly in cities. 7,000 result from household air pollution, caused by cooking and heating with wood and other solid fuels. This affects mainly rural communities.

In both cities and countryside, the cause is the same: tiny particles in smoke which we breathe in and which can lead to chronic lung disease and acute respiratory infections, lung cancer, heart disease and strokes. This does not just affect Latin America, but is a global problem causing over 6 million deaths worldwide each year.

 

In Colombia, outdoor air pollution is a real problem, causing about one in 20 of all deaths in the metropolitan areas of Bogota, Valle de Aburra and Cali. But for rural dwellers the situation is much worse; household air pollution is responsible for an alarming 17% of all deaths. More than one in every six deaths is caused by burning wood and solid fuels to cook food and keep warm.