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Air pollution (outdoor air).

Important facts

  • Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental risks to children's health
  • In 2019, 99% of the world's population lived in places that did not meet WHO air quality guidelines.
  • The combined effects of air pollution and household air pollution are associated with 6.7 million premature deaths annually.
  • Outdoor air pollution was estimated to cause 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019.
  • About 89% of these premature deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries, with the largest number in the WHO Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions.
  • Policies and investments to promote cleaner transportation, energy-efficient homes, power generation, industry, and better municipal waste management would reduce major sources of outdoor air pollution. Access to clean household energy would also significantly reduce air pollution in some regions.

overview

Outdoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem that affects everyone in low-, middle-, and high-income countries.

It was estimated that air pollution (outdoor) in both urban and rural areas resulted in 4.2 million premature deaths per year worldwide in 2019; This mortality is due to exposure to particulate matter, which causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and cancer.

The WHO estimates that in 2019, about 68% of premature deaths caused by outdoor air pollution were due to ischemic heart disease and stroke, 14% were due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 14% were due to acute lower respiratory tract infections, and 4% of deaths were due to lung cancer.

People living in low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately exposed to outdoor air pollution, with 89% (of the 4.2 million premature deaths) occurring in these areas. The greatest burden is in the WHO Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions. The latest exposure estimates reflect the significant role of air pollution in cardiovascular disease and death.

Air Pollution Reduction Policies

Addressing air pollution, which represents the second highest risk factor for noncommunicable diseases, is critical to protecting public health.

Most sources of outdoor air pollution are well beyond the control of individuals and this requires concerted action by policymakers at local, national and regional levels, working in sectors such as energy, transport, waste management, urban planning and agriculture.

There are many examples of successful measures to reduce air pollution:

  • for industry: clean technologies that reduce emissions from industrial smokestacks; improved management of urban and agricultural waste, including the capture of methane gas from landfills as an alternative to incineration (for use as biogas);
  • for energy: Ensuring access to affordable, clean energy solutions for households for cooking, heating and lighting;
  • for transport: switching to cleaner forms of electricity generation; Prioritizing urban transport, walking and cycling networks in cities and inner-city rail freight and passenger transport; Transitioning to cleaner heavy-duty diesel and low-emission vehicles and fuels, including reduced sulfur fuels;
  • for urban planning: improve the energy efficiency of buildings and make cities greener, more compact and therefore more energy efficient;
  • for electricity generation: increased use of low-emission fuels and renewable, non-combustion energy sources (such as solar, wind or hydropower); combined heat and power; and distributed energy generation (e.g. mini-grids and rooftop solar power generation);
  • for municipal and agricultural waste management: Waste reduction, waste separation, recycling and reuse/reprocessing strategies, as well as improved biological waste management methods such as anaerobic waste digestion to produce biogas, are viable, cost-effective alternatives to open burning of solid waste – where incineration is unavoidable – are incineration technologies with strict emissions controls vitally important; And
  • for health activities: Transitioning health services to a low-carbon development path can contribute to more resilient and cost-effective service delivery, as well as reduced environmental health risks for patients, health workers and the community. By supporting climate-smart policies, the health sector can provide public leadership while improving the delivery of health services.

pollutants

Fine dust (PM)
PM is a common indicator of air pollution. There is strong evidence of the negative health effects associated with exposure to this pollutant. The main components of particulate matter are sulfates, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, soot, mineral dust and water.

Carbon monoxide (CO)
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless toxic gas produced by the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels such as wood, gasoline, charcoal, natural gas, and kerosene.

Ozone (O3)
Ground-level ozone – not to be confused with the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere – is one of the main components of photochemical smog and is formed by reacting with gases in the presence of sunlight.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2)
NO2 is a gas commonly released during the combustion of fuels in the transportation and industrial sectors.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2)
SO2 is a colorless gas with a pungent smell. It is created by burning fossil fuels (coal and oil) and smelting mineral ores containing sulfur.

For more information about these pollutants and other types, visit this page.

Air Quality Guidelines

The WHO global air quality guidelines (AQG) provide global guidance on thresholds and limits for key air pollutants that pose a health risk. These guidelines have a high methodological quality and are developed in a transparent, evidence-based decision-making process. In addition to the guideline values ​​are the WHO global air quality guidelines Set intermediate goals to promote a gradual transition from high to lower concentrations and associated health benefits. For example, by achieving intermediate goal one (35 µg/m).3) around 300,000 deaths would be saved worldwide every year.

The guidelines also provide qualitative statements on good practices for dealing with certain types of particulate matter (PM), for example soot/elemental carbon, ultrafine particles and particles from sand and dust storms, for which there is insufficient quantitative evidence to derive AQG values .

WHO response

Recognizing the seriousness and urgency of the problem, all WHO Member States adopted resolution A68.8 “Health and environment: addressing the health impacts of air pollution” at the World Health Assembly in 2015, complemented by an action plan the following year.

As the coordinating authority for international health, WHO supports countries in protecting public health through evidence-based policies and actions. Given the significant health burden and the multiple potential benefits of interventions, WHO supports countries by providing evidence, building institutional capacity and using the health argument to assemble sectors to address air pollution.

To help reduce air pollution and protect public health
To avoid risks, the WHO Department of Air Quality and Health works in three cross-cutting areas:

1. Knowledge, evidence and measurement of progress
2. Institutional capacity building and technical support
3. Leadership and coordination.

Member States and subnational units are usually responsible for implementation
Monitoring measures to promote air quality for health. Successful politics
and sound governance depend on the coordinated action of a variety of stakeholders and sectors.
tors. Cooperation with other UN organizations and non-state actors is essential and integrated
to be included in WHO's work to ensure synergies and maximize impact on the ground.

A full list of WHO's activities to combat air pollution can be found here and here.

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