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Air pollution is contamination of the indoor or outdoor environment by any chemical, physical or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include ...
Air pollution is a major environmental threat and one of the main cases of death among all risk factors, ranking just below hypertension, tobacco smoking and high glucose. WHO estimates that, globally, air pollution is responsible for about 7 million premature deaths per year from ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer, but also from acute ...
How air pollution affects our body. Particles with a diameter of 10 microns or less (≤ PM 10) can penetrate and lodge deep inside the lungs, causing irritation, inflammation and damaging the lining of the respiratory tract. Smaller, more health-damaging particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less (≤ PM 2.5 – 60 of them make up the ...
Air pollution leads people to be exposed to fine particles in polluted air that penetrate deep into the lungs and cardiovascular system, causing diseases including stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and respiratory infections. WHO data show that almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that ...
The updated WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) provide recommendations on air quality guideline levels as well as interim targets for six key air pollutants. They also offer qualitative statements on good practices for the management of certain types of particulate matter (PM), for example, black carbon/elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, and particles originating from sand and dust ...
WHO monitors the exposure of air pollution and its health impacts (deaths, DALYs) at the national, regional and global level from ambient (outdoor) and household air pollution. Such estimates are used for official reporting like the world health statistics, and the Sustainable Development Goals. The Air Pollution Data Portal includes Burden of Disease statistics, air quality databases and ...
There are many potential sources of indoor air pollution – such as cooking, active and passive smoking, incense burning – in addition to the infiltration of air pollutants from outdoors to indoors, which in turn is a function of many factors (e.g. type of ventilation, building specificities, etc.).
The unit for Air Quality and Health, Air Pollution and Health, provides support in the development of guidance, tools and provision of expertise and advice on health issues related to air pollution. The unit leads monitoring and reporting on global trends and changes in health outcomes associated with actions taken to address air pollution at national, regional, global levels to protect health.
Around 2.4 billion people cook and heat their homes with polluting fuels and every year 3.2 million people die prematurely from household air pollution. More than 99% of the population live in areas where the air pollution is above WHO air quality guidelines and 4.2 million deaths are attributed to ambient air pollution each year.
In 2019, air pollution caused about 6.7 million deaths. Of these, almost 85% are attributable to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including ischemic heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and diabetes. This makes air pollution the second leading cause of NCDs globally after tobacco.