The UN has called on governments, companies, civil society and individuals to tackle air pollution, calling it the biggest environmental health risk of our time and a climate threat.
Ahead of an International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies on Saturday, designated so by the UN general assembly, the organisation said air pollution is one of the main avoidable causes of death and disease globally.
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“Today, the international community acknowledges that improving air quality can enhance climate change mitigation and that climate change mitigation efforts can improve air quality,” the UN said in a statement.
Invisible particles of pollutants are responsible for about one third of deaths from stroke, chronic respiratory disease and lung cancer, as well as a quarter of deaths from heart attacks, the statement said.
Ground-level ozone, produced from the interaction of many different pollutants in sunlight, is also a cause of asthma and chronic respiratory illnesses.
Some air pollutants, such as black carbon, methane and ground-level ozone, are also short-lived climate pollutants, so their reduction also has benefits for the climate, it added.
Air pollution “knows no borders” and by tackling it proactively “we can achieve transformative change and secure healthy air for all,” the statement said.
