Ambient air pollution
Ambient air pollution accounts for an estimated 4.2 million deaths per year due to stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. Around 91% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits. While ambient air pollution affects developed and developing countries alike, low- and middle-income countries experience the highest burden, with the greatest toll in the WHO Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions.
Policies and investments supporting cleaner transport, energy-efficient housing, power generation, industry and better municipal waste management can effectively reduce key sources of ambient air pollution.
Global Platform on Air Quality and Health
The Global Platform on Air Quality and Health is a WHO-led initiative, in collaboration with nearly 50 other international/regional agencies and research institutions, to strengthen capacity for air quality monitoring worldwide and assessment and reporting of related health impacts in a transparent and harmonized way. The Platform aims to stimulate policies that reduce air pollution exposures and related deaths and disease.
13 September 2018
Preventing disease through healthy environments: a global assessment of the burden...
The main message emerging from this new comprehensive global assessment is that premature death and disease can be prevented through healthier environments...
This report presents a summary of methods and results of the latest WHO global assessment of ambient air pollution exposure and the resulting burden...
12 August 2006
Air quality guidelines
Clean air is considered to be a basic requirement of human health and well-being. However, air pollution continues to pose a significant threat to health...