Industrialisation has created massive consequences for the environment, affecting first and foremost the air quality in developing urban areas. The expansion of factories and the rise in coal consumption and combustion gave rise to unprecedented levels of air pollution due to the dramatic increase in emissions of primary pollutants. The growing population also played a role, with private households substantially contributing to an increase in domestic emissions from burning coal for heating and cooking. The amount of pollutants in the air first increased in cities but later spread across countries. It quickly became a much larger-scale issue when global trade took off, turning air pollution into one of the harshest consequences of industrial growth across the world.

Europe and North America – the continents that first experienced rapid industrial growth – were not surprisingly also the ones most impacted by emissions and, for most of the second half of the twentieth century, they suffered the majority of adverse effects of air pollution. Until 1970, both continents combined were responsible for more than 80% of the global sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions. 

Household combustion devices, motor vehicles, industrial facilities and forest fires are common sources of air pollution. Pollutants of major public health concern include particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Outdoor and indoor air pollution cause respiratory and other diseases and are important sources of morbidity and mortality. 

WHO data show that almost all of the global population (99%) breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline limits and contains high levels of pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries suffering from the highest exposures.

Air quality is closely linked to the earth’s climate and ecosystems globally. Many of the drivers of air pollution (i.e. combustion of fossil fuels) are also sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Policies to reduce air pollution, therefore, offer a win-win strategy for both climate and health, lowering the burden of disease attributable to air pollution, as well as contributing to the near- and long-term mitigation of climate change.

Clean air is everyone’s business and air pollution is preventable. The solutions to this pressing issue are also key to tackling the climate crisis, fostering inclusive societies and improving childhood development. By working together, we have a golden opportunity to transform our approach to one of the great hidden killers.

Here are five reasons clean air is everyone’s business from our latest report, as well as recommendations for funders and campaigners.

At the national level, the project advises the Malaysian Department of Environment in developing and implementing a modern air pollution control policy. Exhaust emission ceilings for vehicles and industry are defined together with the partner authority, for example. Joint solutions are developed for monitoring compliance with these limits. Improving fuel quality is especially important, since this is the only way to meet modern exhaust emission standards for new vehicles and reduce emissions from old vehicles. Improving the quality of data on the causes and consequences of air pollution (air monitoring network, emission register, health studies) gives the authorities an effective basis for environmental policy decisions, while at the same time creating transparency for the public.

At the municipal level, local public transport and non-motorised transport are promoted. The development of environmentally sensitive urban transport is explained in workshops for industry, media and universities. In addition, environmental communication and intensive information campaigns for project activities raise the awareness of broad segments of the population about the importance of the environment. Activities at the international level include promotion of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities and private sector technology transfer between Malaysia and Europe.

The project also conducted studies on the use of Malaysian natural gas and supported the relevant proposals at the policy level. Natural gas is considered a cleaner fuel and, in view of high oil prices, offers an alternative to petrol and diesel fuel.

Yet the level of funding set aside to confront the challenge is a fraction of the amount earmarked for fighting infectious diseases, said the research from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).

Its annual Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report showed that fine particulate air pollution—which comes from vehicle and industrial emissions, wildfires and more—remains the "greatest external threat to public health."

If the world were to permanently reduce these pollutants to meet the World Health Organization's (WHO) guideline limit, the average person would add 2.3 years onto his or her life expectancy, according to the data, which has a 2021 cutoff.

Fine particulate matter is linked to lung disease, heart disease, strokes and cancer.

Tobacco use, by comparison, reduces global life expectancy by 2.2 years while child and maternal malnutrition is responsible for a reduction of 1.6 years.

Air pollution concentrations are then fed into the AQLI metric which calculates their impact on life expectancy, based on peer-reviewed methods.

Residents of Bangladesh, where average PM2.5 levels were 74 micrograms per cubic meter, would gain 6.8 years of life if this were brought to WHO guidelines of 5 micrograms per cubic meter.

India's capital Delhi meanwhile is the "most polluted megacity in the world" with annual average particulate pollution of 126.5 micrograms per cubic meter.

Its air pollution dropped 42.3 percent between 2013 and 2021. If the improvements are sustained, the average Chinese citizen will be able to live 2.2 years longer.

But the growing threat of wildfires—linked to hotter temperatures and drier conditions due to climate change— are causing pollution spikes from the western United States to Latin America and Southeast Asia.

For example, California's historic wildfire season of 2021 saw Plumas County receive an average concentration of fine particulate matter more than five times over the WHO guideline.

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.

It is widely accepted that action must be taken immediately to address and minimize air pollution. This entails investing in public transit, encouraging cleaner energy sources, enforcing stronger rules on industrial emissions, and increasing public awareness of the significance of individual acts in reducing pollution.

In order to reduce air pollution and safeguard the health of present and future generations, it is critical that individuals, communities, corporations, and governments collaborate. This viewpoint is in line with the international agreement that joint action is required to counteract the harmful impacts of air pollution on the environment and public health.