International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 2023; September 7th.

FORUM: "Together for Clean Air." International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 2023.

The theme "Together for Clean Air" will highlight the urgent need for stronger partnerships, increased investment, and share responsibility for overcoming air pollution. Air pollution, indoors and outdoors, directly impacts human and ecosystem health. We all share and breathe the same air; thus, we all have a responsibility to protect our atmosphere and ensure healthy air for everyone. According to WHO, almost everyone (99 % of the global population) breathes polluted air. The transboundary nature of air pollution calls for local, national, regional, and global partnerships to tackle the problem. This year’s theme highlights that it is time to invest, work together, and contribute to clean air. Collaboration with UN member states, development organizations, international and regional organizations, the private sector, and civil society is crucial to reducing pollution and improving air quality. Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #7september; #WorldCleanAirDay, #TogetherForCleanAir.


STATEMENTS

Statement by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies 2023; September 7th.

Air pollution is a global emergency. Ninety-nine per cent of humanity breathes air laced with soot, sulphur and other toxic chemicals, with low- and middle-income countries suffering the highest exposures. Every year, 7 million people die prematurely as a result, and air pollution is intimately linked to global heating.

Air pollution knows no borders, travelling thousands of kilometres, spreading contaminates with the wind. And the climate crisis is having devastating and growing impacts on every continent on Earth.

Global problems require global solutions. We must act together for clean air — the theme of this year’s International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies.

Together, we must accelerate a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels, particularly coal, towards clean renewable energy, while ensuring that no one is left behind.

To help achieve this, I have proposed a Climate Solidarity Pact in which all big emitters make extra efforts to cut emissions, and wealthier countries mobilize financial and technical resources to support emerging economies to do so. And I have proposed an Acceleration Agenda to super-charge these efforts. I urge all countries to put both into effect.

We must also support the transition to clean cooking and electric vehicles. We must encourage walking and cycling in cities and put in place systems to make responsible waste management second nature. And we must act on the pledge to reduce methane emissions.

Our air is a common good and a common responsibility. Let’s work together to clean it up, protect our health and leave a healthy planet for generations to come.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

Statement from the UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen on International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 2023; September 7th.

EVENTS: International Day of Clean Air for blue skies 2023

Join the WHO Air Quality, Energy and Health Unit for a groundbreaking webinar “New opportunities for air pollution and health education: launching an OpenWHO online course for health workers” to be held on 5 September 2023 at 1-2:15pm (CEST).

In a landmark collaboration with over 30 international experts, WHO has developed the first WHO Air Pollution and Health Training toolkit specifically tailored for health workers (APHT) to be unveiled at the end of 2023. The toolkit includes downloadable and interactive training resources to inform and empower health care professionals. In anticipation of the toolkit’s launch, a readily accessible OpenWHO online training will be released at the margins of the 2023 UN International Day of Clean Air for blue skies.

The webinar aims to:

• Launch the OpenWHO course on air pollution and health: an introduction for health workers.
• Showcase key initiatives aimed at raising awareness and equipping health professionals to tackle air pollution and protect public health.
• Preview the upcoming Air Pollution and Health Training toolkit targeting health workers (APHT).

Click here to access the background document
This webinar session will be recorded. Register here for the webinar

Agenda

Opening and welcoming remarks
- Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO (video message)
- Ms Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, The Ella Roberta Foundation
Launch of the OpenWHO course “Air pollution and health: an introduction for health workers”
- Dr Samantha Pegoraro, Technical Officer, Air Quality and Health Unit, WHO

Panel discussion: What challenges and opportunities for air pollution education of the health workforce?
Key examples from:

• The Community Household Air Pollution Prevention Programme (CHAP-PP): strengthening Community Health Workers’ education in Kenya
• Air pollution data in children’s clinical records: a GOSH experience in London
• Using air pollution low-cost sensors to educate Community Health Workers in Brazil
• Clean air advocacy actions and education among medical students and secondary school children in Cameroon

Facilitator: Dr Mohamed Eissa, Liaison Officer for Public Health, International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)

Discussants:

- Mr Daniel Pope, Co-Director CLEAN-Air(Africa) & Professor, University of Liverpool
- Dr Mark Hayden, Greet Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), London, the United Kingdom
- Dr Enrique Falceto de Barros, World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA), Brazil
- Mr Elvis Ndikum Achiri, Co-Founder and President at Global Youth Strategy (GYS) on Air Pollution and Climate Health, Cameroon

What’s next: the WHO Air Pollution and Health Training toolkit for health workers (APTH)

- Dr Sophie Gumy, Technical Officer, Air Quality and Health Unit, WHO

- Dr Carl Osei, Ghana Health Service, Ministry of Health, Ghana

Closing remarks
Dr Heather Adair-Rohani, Unit Head a.i., Air Quality and Health Unit, WHO

CAMPAIGN: Everyone has a part to play in cleaning our air and protecting our health, and everyone can benefit from it: a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, including clean air, is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide range of human rights.

International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies 2022; September 7th.

 FORUM: "The Air We share.''.International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies 2022.

Greenhouse gases, aerosols, pollutants, they all impact the climate. The links between air pollution and climate change are legion and increasing. When people are exposed to air pollution and extreme heat, their risk of death is some 20 per cent higher.

Statement by the U.N. Secretary General on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies 2022; September 7th.

In July this year, nations recognized the universal right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

Clean air is now a human right.

A stable climate is a human right.

Healthy nature is a human right.

Today, air pollution is denying billions of people of their rights.

Dirty air affects 99 per cent of people on the planet.

The poor suffer worst.

Especially women and girls, whose health suffers by cooking and heating with dirty fuels.

The poor also live in areas choked with fumes from traffic and industry.

Air pollutants also cause global warming.

Wildfires are further polluting the air.

When people are exposed to air pollution and extreme heat, their risk of death is some 20 per cent higher.

Climate change and air pollution are a deadly duo.

On this third International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, I call on all countries to work together to combat air pollution.

We know what to do.

Invest in renewable energy and swiftly transition away from fossil fuels.

Rapidly move to zero-emission vehicles and alternative modes of transport.

Increase access to clean cooking, heating and cooling.

Recycle waste instead of burning it.

These actions would save millions of lives each year, slow climate change and speed up sustainable development.

Air pollution knows no borders.

So, nations must work together.

Let’s monitor air pollution.

Make laws to meet World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines.

And deliver credible plans to reduce emissions from vehicles, power plants, construction and industries.

Together, we can reduce air pollution and keep people and the planet healthy and safe.

U.N. Secretary-General.

OTHER STATEMENTS

The Chief Scientists of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have come together to highlight the theme of the 2022 International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, "The Air We Share," stressing collaboration and connection.

Air pollution is at the heart of global public health, economy, agriculture, biodiversity, environment and climate crisis that both affects and needs the urgent attention of all sectors of society. The evidence is overwhelming: exposure to air pollution adversely affects the health of all, but particularly the most vulnerable, the young and old, those with underlying health issues and above all children from prenatal, to neonates and infants during important developmental stages.

Today, less than one percent of humanity breathes air which meets the WHO’s strictest air quality guidelines. According to WHO’s estimates, there are 7 million premature deaths a year, including roughly 600,000 children under the age of 15 years as a consequence of air pollution – without accounting for the many additional millions who suffer from air pollution-related chronic illnesses.

The Chief Scientists of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) have come together to highlight this critical issue that affects all. This is why the theme of the 2022 International Day of Clean Air for blue skies is the Air We Share, stressing collaboration and connection.

Air pollution also affects other systems such as ecosystems. Sulphur and nitrogen deposition can, result in both acidification and eutrophication (over-enriched with nutrients) of water systems. Tropospheric ozone can have negative impacts on ecosystems leading to loss of biodiversity and negatively impacting plant growth, vitality, photosynthesis, water balance, flowering processes as well as the ability of vegetation to sequester carbon. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species incorporates classification of threats to biodiversity including a sub-class for air-borne pollutants. For terrestrial vertebrates alone, there are 7,427 threatened species, of which 1,181 are classified as threatened by pollution and 64 specifically classified as threatened by air-borne pollutants.

Exposure to ozone can also lead to reduced yields of major crops between 1-15 percent and affect their nutritional value. Recent studies showed that the increase of carbon in the atmosphere is impacting negatively the nutritional quality of our food. Studies have estimated that annual economic losses owing to the impact of ozone on 23 crops amounted to US$26 billion in 2006. Air pollution can even impact water systems when harmful concentrations of pollutants accumulate or by reducing the ability of vegetation to filter water systems.

Air pollution has high economic costs - for example, through lost work or school days due to chronic diseases such as asthma, increased health care costs, reduced crop yields, and reduced competitiveness of globally connected cities. In 2021, a World Bank study found that the economic cost of the health impacts of air pollution alone amounted to US$8.1 trillion, equivalent to 6.1 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019.

The greatest impacts of air pollution are often in areas near the source of emissions, but many air pollutants can travel or form in the atmosphere hundreds to thousands of kilometres from a source of emission, causing regional and continental impacts. For example, soil mineral dust and sand, which makes up approximately 40% of total aerosols in the lower atmosphere, can remain in the atmosphere for as much as a week allowing it to be transported over continents and has a global impact on health, agriculture, transport, economy, and climate.

Finally, air pollution is strongly linked to climate change, with many greenhouse gases and air pollutants being emitted by the same sources. This means that the adoption of coherent policies and measures aimed at reducing emission of climate pollutants could also have beneficial impacts on air quality. Conversely, they can also aggravate each other in multiple ways. Rising temperatures can result in an increase in the frequency of wildfires, which in turn result in increased levels of airborne particulate matter containing several other air pollutants, notably ozone and black carbon (a component of PM2.5) which can shift weather patterns and contribute to warming, particularly over areas covered in ice and snow.

The good news is that, while complex and requiring a coordinated government response, air pollution is a preventable and manageable threat. While air pollution has not been solved in any region - with the problem exacerbated in urban and industrial areas of low- and middle-income countries - many cities and countries around the globe have shown remarkable decreases in emissions and pollutant concentrations where strong policies, regulations and monitoring systems have been put into place. But air pollution knows no municipal or national borders. The air we breathe truly connects us all - addressing this threat in a sustainable manner requires urgent action and cooperation at all scales across the globe.

We, chief scientists at UNEP, WHO, IUCN, and WMO will contribute to a more integrated and systems-based approach to address air pollution by working more closely together at the international level to understand the scale of the problem; share information; identify gaps in the knowledge needed by countries to act and to encourage the agencies they represent to coordinate their efforts at national scale to reduce the air pollution threat more rapidly.

In that spirit, we call on researchers, industry leaders, decisionmakers and political leaders to work together to:

Continue to strengthen and expand cooperation at all scales on transboundary air pollution, particularly around integrated monitoring, reporting, and knowledge sharing of experiences and good practices. This includes strengthening and integrating policies, the capacity of institutions in all countries to develop the knowledge, tools, ground-based observations and data to implement effective policies to reduce air pollution.


Support development of a comprehensive global network of ground-based observations of atmospheric pollutants. Together with chemistry-transport models, a network involving scientific community, in coordination with UN agencies, to develop a clear picture of the global distribution of atmospheric pollutants, as well as the necessary set of guidelines to advise countries on how to deal with air pollution.


Identify co-benefits of action and prioritize policies that maximize synergies across multiple goals, national priorities and imperatives. The interlinkages between tackling air pollution, climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, food security, and development provide many opportunities to amplify the benefits of our actions and catalyse even greater mitigation ambition. Harnessing these will put the world on a trajectory that maximizes benefits, reduces the risk of policy failure, and delivers national development priorities.


Undertake specific science-based actions to manage air pollution, including for example:

National implementation of the WHO's air quality guidelines which would contribute to an 80% reduction of mortality caused by air pollution, a significant decrease in the burden of diseases and health costs to governments;


Solar and electric powering of health systems of all countries given the significant emissions of CO2 from this sector globally;


Implementation of the COP26 Health commitment which aims to achieve a Climate resilient and sustainable health system, creating the Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH) with more than 57 countries as part of the alliance and chaired by WHO;


Ploughing residual agricultural waste from a crop into the ground rather than burning it (responsible for a significant proportion of pollution in many parts of the world every year).

These are just a small few of the science-based actions that can be taken to manage air pollution while delivering simultaneous benefits for climate, public and ecosystem health, food security and sustainable development. For more resources for action, please refer to the following:

The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies webpage contains information and resources to educate and support local, regional and global action on air pollution.


The Compendium of WHO and other UN guidance on health and environment for ambient and indoor air pollution, includes policies and actions which can help governments and communities can take to comprehensively address air pollution.


The 2021 WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines provide recommendations on air quality guideline levels as well as interim targets for six key air pollutants as well as examples of good practice to manage certain types of particulate matter air pollution.


The UN Convention to Combat Desertification’s Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) compendium provides information and guidance on how to assess and address the risks posed and actions to combat SDSs.