Air pollution - World Health Organization (WHO)

Air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year. WHO data shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of ... Home/ Healthtopics/ Airpollution Overview Airpollutioniscontaminationoftheindoororoutdoorenvironmentbyanychemical,physicalorbiologicalagentthatmodifiesthenaturalcharacteristicsoftheatmosphere.Householdcombustiondevices,motorvehicles,industrialfacilitiesandforestfiresarecommonsourcesofairpollution.Pollutantsofmajorpublichealthconcernincludeparticulatematter,carbonmonoxide,ozone,nitrogendioxideandsulfurdioxide.Outdoorandindoorairpollutioncauserespiratoryandotherdiseasesandareimportantsourcesofmorbidityandmortality. WHOdatashowthatalmostalloftheglobalpopulation(99%)breatheairthatexceeds WHOguidelinelimits andcontainshighlevelsof pollutants, withlow-andmiddle-incomecountriessufferingfromthehighestexposures.Airqualityiscloselylinkedtotheearth’sclimateandecosystemsglobally.Manyofthedriversofairpollution(i.e.combustionoffossilfuels)arealsosourcesofgreenhousegasemissions.Policiestoreduceairpollution,therefore,offerawin-winstrategyforbothclimateandhealth,loweringtheburdenofdiseaseattributabletoairpollution,aswellascontributingtothenear-andlong-termmitigationofclimatechange. Impact Fromsmoghangingovercitiestosmokeinsidethehome,airpollutionposesamajor threattohealth andclimate.Ambient(outdoor)airpollutioninbothcitiesandruralareasiscausingfineparticulatematterwhichresultinstrokes,heartdiseases,lungcancer,acuteandchronicrespiratorydiseases.  Additionally,around2.4billionpeopleareexposedtodangerouslevelsofhouseholdairpollution,whileusingpollutingopenfiresorsimplestovesforcookingfuelledbykerosene,biomass(wood,animaldungandcropwaste)andcoal.Thecombinedeffectsofambientairpollutionandhouseholdairpollutionisassociatedwith7millionprematuredeathsannually.Sourcesofairpollutionaremultipleandcontextspecific.Themajoroutdoorpollutionsourcesincluderesidentialenergyforcookingandheating,vehicles,powergeneration,agriculture/wasteincineration,andindustry. Policiesandinvestmentsthatsupportsustainablelanduse,cleanerhouseholdenergyandtransport,energy-efficienthousing,powergeneration,industry,andbettermunicipalwastemanagementcaneffectivelyreducekeysourcesofambientairpollution. WHOresponse WHOpromotesinterventionsandinitiativesforhealthysectoralpolicies(includingenergy,transport,housing, urbandevelopment and electrificationof health-carefacilities),addressingkeyriskstohealthfromairpollutionindoorsandoutdoors,andcontributingtoachievinghealthco-benefitsfromclimatechangemitigationpolicies. WHOprovidestechnicalsupporttoWHO’sMemberStatesinthedevelopmentofnormativeguidance,toolsandprovisionofauthoritativeadviceonhealthissuesrelatedtoairpollutionanditssources.WHOmonitorsandreportsonglobaltrendsandchangesinhealthoutcomesassociatedwithactionstakentoaddressairpollutionatthenational,regionalandgloballevels.WHOhasalsodevelopedandimplemented a strategy forraisingawarenessontheriskofairpollution,aswellasavailablesolutionsthatcanbeimplementedtomitigatetherisksofexposuretoairpollution.Throughdigitaloutreachandpartnerships,WHOhashelpedenrichthevaluepropositionofaddressingairpollutionforhealthandenvironmentministries,citygovernmentsandotherstakeholdersfromsectorswithsignificantemissions.  FactsheetsHouseholdairpollutionandhealthAmbient(outdoor)airpollutionDatabasesGlobalhealthobservatory(GHO)GHOdatarepositoryMapsanddataAmbientairqualitydatabaseNationalairqualitystandardsResolutionsanddecisionsHealthandtheenvironment:addressingthehealthimpactofairpollution(WHA68.8)Healthandtheenvironment:draftroadmapforanenhancedglobalresponsetotheadversehealtheffectsofairpollution:reportbytheSecretariat(WHA69.18)Health,environmentandclimatechange:reportbytheDirector-General(WHA71.10)Health,environmentandclimatechange:roadmapforanenhancedglobalresponsetotheadversehealtheffectsofairpollution:reportbytheDirector-General(WHA71/10Add.1)TeamsEnvironmentclimatechangeandhealthAirqualityandhealth News All→ 14September2022 Departmentalnews WHOtrainshealthworkersinGhanaonairpollutionandhealth 7September2022 Departmentalnews WHOreleasesnewrepositoryofresourcesforairqualitymanagement 1June2022 Departmentalnews Report:COVID-19slowsprogresstowardsuniversalenergyaccess 6April2022 Newsrelease WHOurgesacceleratedactiontoprotecthumanhealthandcombattheclimatecrisisatatimeofheightenedconflictandfragility Publications All→ 30August2022 Brief:Corequestionsonhouseholdenergyuse TheCoreQuestionsonHouseholdEnergyUseareasetofstandardquestionsthatcan beintegratedintonationalsurveysorcensusestoassesscleanand... Download ReadMore 5August2022 OpportunitiesfortransitiontocleanhouseholdenergyinPanama.ApplicationoftheWHOHouseholdEnergy... ThispublicationisavailableinSpanishonly.YoucanaccesstheSpanishversion here. Theuseofsolidfuelsforcookingisalarge-scalepublic... ReadMore 25July2022 Brief:Householdenergypolicyrepository TheWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)’sHouseholdEnergyPolicyRepositoryisanonlineclearinghouseforpolicies,regulationsandlegislationaffecting... Download ReadMore 4July2022 Brief:BenefitsofActiontoReduceHouseholdAirPollution(BAR-HAP)Tool TheBenefitsofActiontoReduceHousehold AirPollution(BAR-HAP)toolcanbeusedto comparethecostsandbenefitsofdifferent interventionsto... Download ReadMore Documents All→ 25July2022 Sourcebookdirectory:Integratinghealthinurbanandterritorialplanning Thesourcebookdirectoryisanonlinerepositoryofmorethan100resourcesandtoolsthatprovideinformationontheimportanceofplanninganddesigning... Download ReadMore 27June2022 PolicyBriefTemplate-HouseholdEnergyAssessmentRapidTool(HEART) Thisdocumentcontainssuggestionsforcontenttobeincludedinatwotofourpagepolicybriefcoveringthemainmessagesdevelopedinanationalreport... Download ReadMore 30May2022 TrackingSDG7:TheEnergyProgressReport2022 This2022editionofTrackingSDG7:TheEnergyProgressReportassessesachievementsintheglobal questforuniversalaccesstoaffordable,reliable,... Download ReadMore 21April2022 HouseholdEnergyAssessmentRapidTool(HEART) HEARTfacilitatescompletionofthefollowing:1)Arapidsituationalassessmentofcurrenthouseholdenergyuse(particularlyforcooking,heatingand... Download ReadMore Ourwork Acceleratingaccesstoelectricityinhealth-carefacilities Identifyingsolutionsforcountries Synthesizingevidenceandknowledgeonairpollution Understandingtheproblem Workingwithpartners FeatureStories All→ 6October2021 LaunchofWHO'sHouseholdEnergyPolicyRepository 22September2021 WhataretheWHOAirqualityguidelines? 6September2021 Transitioningtocleanercooking 23July2020 ActionablesforahealthyrecoveryfromCOVID-19 Videos All→ 5May2022 TrainingVideo:Coresurveyquestionsonhouseholdenergyuse 18July2022 ToolDemonstration:BenefitsofActiontoReduceHouseholdAirPollution(BAR-HAP)Tool 18July2022 ToolOverview-BenefitsofActiontoReduceHouseholdAirPollution(BAR-HAP) 18July2022 TrainingVideo:PerformanceTarget(PT)Model Infographics All→ Infographic Globalairpollutionhasrisenby8%from2008-2013 Infographic Householdairpollution Infographic SolutionsforAirPollution Infographic Airpollution:Anunseenthreattochildren'shealth Events All→ 2ndMeetingoftheHigh-LevelCoalitiononHealthandEnergy 7October202214:00–16:00CET SDG11.6.2WorkingGroup:FinalMeeting 3August202214:00–16:00CET SDG11.6.2WorkingGroup:ThirdMeeting 12April202214:00–16:00CET SDG11.6.2WorkingGroup:SecondMeeting 6December202114:00–16:00CET Spotlight Airpollutionandhealthvideoseries Relatedhealthtopics Physicalenvironment Children'senvironmentalhealth Disasters Climatechange Diseasesandconditions Noncommunicablediseases Diseasesandconditions Pneumonia