Exposure to health damaging air pollutants

Overview

Exposure to air pollution has significant adverse health effects, leading to nearly 1 in every 8 deaths globally. Air pollution affects all age groups, from unborn children to older people, in both high- and low-income nations.

Exposure is the contact between people and polluted air, which is influenced by how much time people spend breathing air pollution at different concentrations. Exposure to air pollutants affects the respiratory, cardiovascular and other organ systems, increasing the risk of morbidity and mortality. Adverse health effects are related to exposure to the mixture of pollutants, with well-established evidence for fine and coarse particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide; ultrafine particles (UFPs) and components of PM such as black carbon and some metals are also understood to adversely impact health.

Exposure to health damaging air pollutants highlights the various air pollutants, their sources and the implications on health. The technical brief summarizes geographical distributions and inequities, trends and the way forward to protect public health.

This document is part of the WHO Air Quality, Energy, and Health Science and Policy Summaries (SPS). These summaries provide concise overviews of current knowledge and evidence on air quality, energy access, climate change, and health. They aim to support decision-makers by presenting key insights from scientific research.

The SPS are developed through a multistakeholder consultation process that includes experts from WHO Advisory Groups – i.e., the Scientific Advisory Group on Air Pollution and Health (SAG), and the Global Air Pollution and Health – Technical Advisory Group (GAPH-TAG) – as well as specialists from WHO Collaborating Centres, UN agencies as well as other experts from academia and civil society.

All Science and Policy Summaries can be accessed here