Air quality, energy and health
The unit provides technical support to WHO’s Member States in the development of normative guidance, tools and provision of authoritative advice on health issues related to air pollution and its sources. The unit leads monitoring and reporting on global trends and changes in health outcomes associated with actions taken to address air pollution at the national, regional and global scales.
About us

Sustainable development goals & air pollution

WHO has worked to ensure that health-relevant indicators of household and ambient pollution exposure and burden of disease are included in the formal system of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators. 

Leveraging its technical expertise, WHO monitors and tracks progress on health indicators to measure progress toward achieving the SDG3 on health, SDG7 on energy, and SDG11 on cities.   

Targets of particular relevance to ambient and household air pollution include:  

  • SDG target 3.9.1, which calls for a substantial reduction in deaths and illnesses from air pollution. 
  • SDG target 7.1.2, which aims to ensure access to clean energy in homes 
  • SDG target 11.6.2, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of cities by improving air quality  

WHO uses national reference-grade ground measurements, satellite data, chemical transport models and population information to derive model population-weighted concentrations of particulate matter that is reported as annual air pollution in cities in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11. Information on exposure to household and ambient air pollution from SDG 7 and SDG 11 are then used to derive the combined burden of disease from air pollution in SDG 3. The WHO global household energy database tracks energy use for cooking, heating and lighting, and is being used to measure progress toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7.

WHO will continue to produce statistics for tracking these indicators on a regular basis.

Mix of outdoor and indoor air pollution

SDG Indicator 3.9.1

Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution (per 100 000 population, age-standardized)

Women cooking on a gas stove

SDG Indicator 7.1.2

Proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technologies for cooking (%)

ambient air pollution
Air pollution data portal (GHO)
WHO monitors the exposure levels and health impacts (i.e. deaths, DALYs) of air pollution 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.
Air Quality Detector
WHO Ambient Air quality database
The WHO Ambient Air Auality Database compiles data on ground measurements of annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter of a diameter equal or smaller than 10 μm (PM10) or equal or smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5).