Air pollution is killing millions — it’s time to hold ourselves accountable for the harm it causes



Air pollution is a problem the world over, with 99% of people breathing air that exceed World Health Organization's safety guidelines. 


  • Air pollution causes a slew of negative health impacts for those affected by it, and claims the lives of 7 million people every year.
  • It also accelerates and is worsened by climate change, with the effects most acute for the 70% of the global population who live in cities.
  • Tackling air pollution is an imperative that can be accomplished by ensuring cross-sectoral accountability for planetary and human health.

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of more than six million people — that figure is shocking and a tragedy.

But perhaps more shocking, though, is that people worldwide have been victims of another silent killer for years — one that now kills more people every year than COVID has in two: air pollution.

Estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveal that 7 million people lose their lives every year as a result of air pollution. WHO estimates that 9 in 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants.


Breathing fine particulate matter — known as PM2·5 — can exacerbate not only chronic lung diseases,but also harm lung development, lead to higher rates of breast cancer, cause earlier onset of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and increase heart attack and strokes




Air pollution is killing millions — it’s time to hold ourselves accountable for the harm it causes


An estimated 90% of children worldwide grow up breathing polluted air, direct harm that is completely out of their control and which could have implications for the rest of their lives.

Air pollution is a global health crisis that has largely flown under the radar for years, but one that will increasingly take centre-stage as the fight against climate change ramps up.


Air pollution and climate change

Many air pollutants are also greenhouse gases, and, as such, they accelerate climate change. This means the impacts of air pollution occur both directly — when it causes health issues — and indirectly, by accelerating climate change.


As temperatures rise, an increased occurrence of extreme weather events and rising sea levels will pose further threat to human health. This makes tackling air pollution an important priority for planetery health.a concept that describes the interactions between human health and the environments we depend on.

These risks are concentrated in cities where a growing number — now more than 70% — of people worldwide live. Accelerating efforts to tackle air pollution in cities has the potential to slow and reverse the trajectory of a rising burden of disease caused by the phenomenon.

This is demonstrated in a recent study that found declines in PM2·5 levels in the early phase of the pandemic were associated with significantly fewer heart attacks across the United States. But this potential remains largely untapped.

Accountability for health is largely siloed within the health sector and away from construction, transport, housing and urban development — all of which can play a critical role in determining the quality of the air we breathe.

What is required is a cross-cutting approach that aligns the core business of organisations with the critical goal of improving air quality.


What can be done?

The 2022 theme of World Health Day was Our Planet, Our Health. This concept challenges us to imagine a world where clean air is available to all, and where people have control of their health and that of the planet.

With global economic systems in post-pandemic recovery mode, we are presented with a historic opportunity to build healthy, livable and sustainable cities. This will require meaningful and actionable commitments from those designing and financing the urban projects that shape the future of cities.

Healthy and sustainable cities will require institutionalised mechanisms for inclusive and participatory urban health governance that includes young people. These activities must be supported by robust and reliable real-time data on how urban environments are changing, and how the changes influence health.

Air pollution is an entry point to planetary health. To catalyze action for clean air — to improve health and tackle climate change — we must reform how we think about accountability for air pollution and health.

Implementers, funders, educators and civil society as a whole can play a role in this movement to health-proof and climate-proof our futures.



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