WHO has recently launched updated data on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators tracking the link between air pollution and health. The release of data on ambient and household air pollution highlights critical inequalities: while fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels dropped globally until 2020, they have since remained largely unchanged, with low- and middle-income countries facing significantly higher exposure risks than high-income nations, increasing risks for public health and the environment.
“As the custodian of environmental health-related SDG indicators, WHO is committed to providing robust, evidence-based data, which is essential for bold decision-making. We cannot address the climate and air pollution crisis or protect public health without reliable information that highlights global inequalities and disparities. Placing science at the forefront to drive monitoring and foster multi-sectoral collaboration is crucial to ensuring universal access to clean air and energy, safeguarding both the health of people and planet— – now and for future generations.”
Bruce Gordon, Director a.i., Environment, Climate Change, One Health and Migration, WHO
In 2023, the number of people exposed to air quality exceeding the least stringent interim target of 35 ug/m3, proposed by WHO’s global air quality guidelines was thirteen times higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income ones, affecting 6.5 billion people.
In 2024, approximately 2 billion people still rely on inefficient stoves and fuels for cooking, leading to high levels of health-damaging pollutants in and around the home. Exposure to both ambient and household air pollution drives a heavy burden of noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer, and especially impacts the most vulnerable communities and at-risk populations.
As a consequence of being exposed to unsafe levels of air pollution, low- and-middle income countries bear 90% of these impacts, from which 83% are due to noncommunicable diseases, such as ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic respiratory diseases and lung cancer.
At the regional scale, levels and trends in fine particulate matter are uneven. Asia bears the highest levels of air pollution, but also displays the greatest progress, while some regions have remained essentially unchanged over the last decade, such as Africa, western Asia and northern Africa. In cities, air pollution is usually higher than in rural areas. However, cities have shown great reductions irrespective of their income level. In contrast, progress in rural areas differs depending on income levels, with some rural area levels increasing in low-income countries.
A similar pattern of inequality can also be seen for populations with access to clean cooking. While access has almost doubled in most of Asia since 2010, the population without access is growing in Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), sub-Saharan Africa, western Asia and northern Africa. In urban areas the access rate is 89% but of the 2.0 billion people without access to clean household energy, 1.5 billion people live in rural areas. Around 970 million people lack access in sub-Saharan Africa alone, and that figure may reach 1 billion by 2027. By 2030, 58% of the global access deficit is projected to fall within sub-Saharan Africa.
