Indoor air pollution is caused by burning solid fuel sources – such as firewood, crop waste, and dung – for cooking and heating.
Burning such fuels, particularly in poor households, results in air pollution that leads to respiratory diseases, which can result in premature death. The WHO calls... indoor air pollution "the world's largest single environmental health risk."
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WHO Air Quality Guidelines set goals to protect millions of lives from air pollution
The EEA gathers air pollution data from a wide range of sources. This page provides links to available data and information on Europe's air pollution.
Lancet Planet Health 2021; 5: e542–52
Community Health Volunteers
What have we learned about air pollution and COVID-19? Learn about six air pollutants that are harming your health. Dr Maria Neira explains findings from WHO’s new air quality guidelines in Science in 5.
This report summarizes the latest scientific knowledge on the links between exposure to air pollution and adverse health effects in children. It is intended to inform and motivate individual and collective action by health care professionals to prevent damage to children’s health from exposure to ...air pollution.
Air pollution is a major environmental health threat. Exposure to fine particles in both the ambient environment and in the household causes about seven million premature deaths each year. Ambient air pollution alone imposes enormous costs on the global economy, amounting to more than US$ 5 trillion in total welfare losses in 2013.
This public health crisis is receiving more attention, but one critical aspect is often overlooked: how air pollution affects children in uniquely damaging ways. Recent data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that air pollution has a vast and terrible impact on child health and survival. Globally, 93% of all children live in environments with air pollution levels above the WHO guidelines (see the full report, Air pollution and child health: prescribing clean air. More than one in every four deaths of children under 5 years of age is directly or indirectly related to environmental risks. Both ambient air pollution and household air pollution contribute to respiratory tract infections that resulted in 543 000 deaths in children under the age of 5 years in 2016.
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This document summarizes several air quality measurement and modelling methods that can be used to estimate ground-level air pollutant concentrations and presents multiple approaches to monitoring ambient air pollution at different spatial and temporal scales. These methods are crucial for estimatin...g population exposures, which can be defined as the product of the pollutant concentration and the time over which a person is in contact with this pollutant.
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Why does WHO consider air pollution a public health emergency? If you live in highly polluted areas does COVID-19 affect you differently? WHO’s Dr Maria Neira explains in Science in 5.
Communications and outreach to policy-makers and the wider public are essential to mobilize and sustain support for policy solutions to air pollution and bring the needed health, environment and economic benefits.
The Urban Health Initiative promotes tools and guidance to assess the health impacts of air pollution and the health benefits of sustainable development in energy, transportation, land-use and waste.
New WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) provide clear evidence of the damage air pollution inflicts on human health, at even lower concentrations than previously understood. The guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations, by reducing levels of key air pollu...tants, some of which also contribute to climate change.
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Accessed on 06.03.2022
AirQ+: software tool for health risk assessment of air pollution
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Waste management options such as recycling, composting, incineration and landfill impact health and well-being in profound ways, particularly for people who work directly with waste or live and work around waste sites.
The Urban Health Initiative (UHI) goes beyond improving access to health care and promoting healthy behaviours, and focuses on how to build cities that enable and encourage good health.
The WHO fact sheet on household air pollution highlights that around 2.1 billion people rely on solid fuels like wood and coal for cooking, using open fires or inefficient stoves. This leads to severe indoor air pollution, contributing to about 3.2 million premature deaths each year, including over ...237,000 children under five. Health impacts include strokes, heart disease, COPD, and lung cancer. Women and children are particularly affected due to their roles in cooking and fuel gathering. WHO calls for the adoption of clean energy solutions, such as electricity and solar power, to mitigate the health risks associated with household air pollution.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on ambient (outdoor) air quality and health highlights the significant health risks posed by outdoor air pollution. It reports that in 2019, ambient air pollution was responsible for approximately 4.2 million premature deaths globally, primarily due to ...exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which leads to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as cancers. The fact sheet emphasizes that 99% of the global population lived in areas exceeding WHO air quality guidelines in 2019, with low- and middle-income countries bearing the highest burden. To mitigate these health impacts, WHO advocates for policies and investments that promote cleaner transportation, energy-efficient housing, improved waste management, and access to clean household energy.
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Exposure to air pollution can affect everyone’s health. When we breathe in air pollutants, they can enter our bloodstream and contribute to coughing or itchy eyes and cause or worsen many breathing and lung diseases, leading to hospitalizations, cancer, or even premature death.
Minnesota’s ai...r currently meets all federal air quality standards. However, even levels of air pollution below the standards can affect people’s health, including levels currently found in parts of Minnesota.
No matter where you live, you can be exposed to air pollution from vehicle exhaust, smoke, road dust, industrial emissions, pollen, gas-fueled yard equipment, chemicals we use in our homes, and other sources.
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