New WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines aim to save millions ...

Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, alongside climate change. New guidelines provide clear evidence ... Home/ News/ item/ NewWHOGlobalAirQualityGuidelinesaimtosavemillionsoflivesfromairpollution ©SoloviovaLiudmyla/AdobeStock Childplayinginanindustrialarea © Credits NewWHOGlobalAirQualityGuidelinesaimtosavemillionsoflivesfromairpollution Airpollutionisoneofthebiggestenvironmentalthreatstohumanhealth,alongsideclimatechange. 22September2021 Newsrelease CopenhagenandGeneva Readingtime: NewWHOGlobalAirQualityGuidelines(AQGs)provideclearevidenceofthedamageairpollutioninflictsonhumanhealth,atevenlowerconcentrationsthanpreviouslyunderstood.Theguidelinesrecommendnewairqualitylevelstoprotectthehealthofpopulations,byreducinglevelsofkeyairpollutants,someofwhichalsocontributetoclimatechange.SinceWHO’slast2005globalupdate,therehasbeenamarkedincreaseofevidencethatshowshowairpollutionaffectsdifferentaspectsofhealth.Forthatreason,andafterasystematicreviewoftheaccumulatedevidence,WHOhasadjustedalmostalltheAQGslevelsdownwards,warningthat  exceedingthenewairqualityguidelinelevelsisassociatedwithsignificantriskstohealth.Atthesametime,however,adheringtothemcouldsavemillionsoflives.Everyyear,exposuretoairpollutionisestimatedtocause7millionprematuredeathsandresultinthelossofmillionsmorehealthyyearsoflife.Inchildren,thiscouldincludereducedlunggrowthandfunction,respiratoryinfectionsandaggravatedasthma.Inadults,ischaemicheartdiseaseandstrokearethemostcommoncausesofprematuredeathattributabletooutdoorairpollution,andevidenceisalsoemergingofothereffectssuchasdiabetesandneurodegenerativeconditions.Thisputstheburdenofdiseaseattributabletoairpollutiononaparwithothermajorglobalhealthriskssuchasunhealthydietandtobaccosmoking.Airpollutionisoneofthebiggestenvironmentalthreatstohumanhealth,alongsideclimatechange.Improvingairqualitycanenhanceclimatechangemitigationefforts,whilereducingemissionswillinturnimproveairquality.Bystrivingtoachievetheseguidelinelevels,countrieswillbebothprotectinghealthaswellasmitigatingglobalclimatechange.WHO’snewguidelinesrecommendairqualitylevelsfor6pollutants,whereevidencehasadvancedthemostonhealtheffectsfromexposure.Whenactionistakenontheseso-calledclassicalpollutants–particulatematter(PM),ozone(O₃),nitrogendioxide(NO₂)sulfurdioxide(SO₂)andcarbonmonoxide(CO),italsohasanimpactonotherdamagingpollutants.Thehealthrisksassociatedwithparticulatematterequalorsmallerthan10and2.5microns(µm)indiameter(PM₁₀andPM₂.₅,respectively)areofparticularpublichealthrelevance.BothPM₂.₅andPM₁₀arecapableofpenetratingdeepintothelungsbutPM₂.₅canevenenterthebloodstream,primarilyresultingincardiovascularandrespiratoryimpacts,andalsoaffectingotherorgans.PMisprimarilygeneratedbyfuelcombustionindifferentsectors,includingtransport,energy,households,industry,andfromagriculture.In2013,outdoorairpollutionandparticulatematterwereclassifiedascarcinogenicbyWHO’sInternationalAgencyforResearchonCancer(IARC).Theguidelinesalsohighlightgoodpracticesforthemanagementofcertaintypesofparticulatematter(forexample,blackcarbon/elementalcarbon,ultrafineparticles,particlesoriginatingfromsandandduststorms)forwhichthereiscurrentlyinsufficientquantitativeevidencetosetairqualityguidelinelevels.Theyareapplicabletobothoutdoorandindoorenvironmentsglobally,andcoverallsettings.“Airpollutionisathreattohealthinallcountries,butithitspeopleinlow-andmiddle-incomecountriesthehardest,”saidWHODirector-General,DrTedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus.“WHO’snewAirQualityGuidelinesareanevidence-basedandpracticaltoolforimprovingthequalityoftheaironwhichalllifedepends.Iurgeallcountriesandallthosefightingtoprotectourenvironmenttoputthemtousetoreducesufferingandsavelives.”AnunequalburdenofdiseaseDisparitiesinairpollutionexposureareincreasingworldwide,particularlyaslow-andmiddle-incomecountriesareexperiencinggrowinglevelsofairpollutionbecauseoflarge-scaleurbanizationandeconomicdevelopmentthathaslargelyreliedontheburningoffossilfuels.“Annually,WHOestimatesthatmillionsofdeathsarecausedbytheeffectsofairpollution,mainlyfromnoncommunicablediseases.Cleanairshouldbeafundamentalhumanrightandanecessaryconditionforhealthyandproductivesocieties.However,despitesomeimprovementsinairqualityoverthepastthreedecades,millionsofpeoplecontinuetodieprematurely,oftenaffectingthemostvulnerableandmarginalizedpopulations,”saidWHORegionalDirectorforEurope,DrHansHenriP.Kluge.“Weknowthemagnitudeoftheproblemandweknowhowtosolveit.Theseupdatedguidelinesgivepolicy-makerssolidevidenceandthenecessarytooltotacklethislong-termhealthburden.”Globalassessmentsofambientairpollutionalonesuggesthundredsofmillionsofhealthylifeyearsoflifelost,withthegreatestattributablediseaseburdenseeninlowandmiddle-incomecountries.Themoreexposedtoairpollutiontheyare,thegreaterthehealthimpact,particularlyonindividualswithchronicconditions(suchasasthma,chronicobstructivepulmonarydisease,andheartdisease),aswellasolderpeople,childrenandpregnantwomen.In2019,morethan90%oftheglobalpopulationlivedinareaswhereconcentrationsexceededthe2005WHOairqualityguidelineforlongtermexposuretoPM₂.₅.Countrieswithstrongpolicy-drivenimprovementsinairqualityhaveoftenseenmarkedreductioninairpollution,whereasdeclinesoverthepast30yearswerelessnoticeableinregionswithalreadygoodairquality.TheroadtoachievingrecommendedairqualityguidelinelevelsThegoaloftheguidelineisforallcountriestoachieverecommendedairqualitylevels.Consciousthatthiswillbeadifficulttaskformanycountriesandregionsstrugglingwithhighairpollutionlevels,WHOhasproposedinterimtargetstofacilitatestepwiseimprovementinairqualityandthusgradual,butmeaningful,healthbenefitsforthepopulation.Almost80%ofdeathsrelatedtoPM₂.₅couldbeavoidedintheworldifthecurrentairpollutionlevelswerereducedtothoseproposedintheupdatedguideline,accordingtoarapidscenarioanalysisperformedbyWHO.Atthesametime,theachievementofinterimtargetswouldresultinreducingtheburdenofdisease,ofwhichthegreatestbenefitwouldbeobservedincountrieswithhighconcentrationsoffineparticulates(PM₂.₅)andlargepopulations.NotetoeditorsWhilstnotlegally-binding,likeallWHOguidelines,AQGsareanevidence-informedtoolforpolicy-makerstoguidelegislationandpolicies,inordertoreducelevelsofairpollutantsanddecreasetheburdenofdiseasethatresultsfromexposuretoairpollutionworldwide.Theirdevelopmenthasadheredtoarigorouslydefinedmethodology,implementedbyaguidelinedevelopmentgroup.Itwasbasedonevidenceobtainedfromsixsystematicreviewsthatconsideredmorethan500papers.ThedevelopmentoftheseglobalAQGswasoverseenbyasteeringgroupledbytheWHOEuropeanCentreforEnvironmentandHealth. Subscribetoournewsletters→ MediaContacts CeridwenJohnson WorldHealthOrganization Telephone: +41795789678 Email: [email protected] JamesCreswick TechnicalOfficer(Communications) WHORegionalOfficeforEurope Mobile: +491722083967 Email: [email protected] LeticiaLinn Consultant,Communications WHORegionalOfficeforEurope Mobile: +492288150435 Email: [email protected] AndreiMuchnik CommunicationsOfficer WorldHealthOrganization Telephone: +41227912222 Email: [email protected] Related MoreonairpollutionQuestionsandanswersontheWHOGlobalAirQualityGuidelinesWHOglobalairqualityguidelines.Particulatematter:(PM2.5, PM10),ozone,nitrogendioxide,sulfurdioxideandcarbonmonoxide  WHOglobalairqualityguidelines.Particulatematter:(PM2.5,PM10),ozone,nitrogendioxide,sulfurdioxideandcarbonmonoxide:executivesummary Videos   Factsheets Ambient(outdoor)airpollution 22September2021 More DownloadourInfographics