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It’s time to work together to build a better future with #HealthyAirHealthyPlanet.

On this second International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, it’s time to reflect and reinvigorate our resolve and ambitions for #HealthyAirHealthyPlanet.

In the lead up to the second #WorldCleanAirDay, we're featuring updates from United Nations System, from partners and from others helping to call attention to the severe detrimental impacts of air pollution on human health, climate, biodiversity and ecosystems, and quality of life in general.

 

Invest in #CleanAirNow for a healthier tomorrow

 

Air pollution is the biggest environmental health risk of our time. It also exacerbates climate change, causes economic losses, and reduces agricultural productivity. But it is preventable. Collaboration among all stakeholders is necessary for a healthier tomorrow.

Turn up the volume for clean air

Two wild wallabies in an arm wrestle.
Credit: Unsplash/David Clode

World Clean Air Day is an opportunity for everyone, everywhere, to invest in clean air. It doesn't have to be boring, though. Enjoy some favourite air-themed tracks that inspire action and remind us why clean air matters.

In the DRC, new sustainable agroforestry framework bolsters finance, climate adaptation

 

Protecting forests is important to improving global air quality. New research shows that, besides storing carbon and removing ozone and particulate matter from the air, trees serve as a net sink of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that pollutes the air.

UNEP is working with the Democratic Republic of the Congo to enable sustainable agroforestry,which provides myriad benefits to the environment, health and economy.

How Asian countries could save lives, boost growth by tackling air pollution

A man with a mask surrounded by air pollution
Credit: AFP/Greg Baker

For the people of East and Southeast Asia, air pollution has become an all too familiar sight.

Live data from UNEP showed that on a typical mid-August day this year, more than 98 per cent of people in China, Japan, Laos, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam breathed in air with PM2.5 levels that exceeded World Health Organization guidelines.

Find out more.

Panel discussion to mark International Day of Clean Air for blue skies

Inside the push to clean up one of Africa’s most polluted transit routes

An overhead view of a highway cutting through a city
Credit: AFP/Xinhua

Every day, between 2,000 and 3,000 trucks travel the Northern Corridor—a network of highways, railways, pipelines, and inland waterways linking the largely landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Kenya's port of Mombasa. This has turned the highway into an air pollution hotspot.

The UNEP and the UNEP-supported Climate and Clean Air Coalition are working with these countries to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Fifth #WorldCleanAirDay calls for stronger partnerships

The sky above a field.
Credit: Unsplash/Vlad Kutepov

Clean air is essential for health, while air pollution is the leading environmental risk to human health and a major preventable cause of death globally. The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, held annually, highlights the urgent need to address the evolving threat of air pollution.

Under the theme "Invest in #CleanAirNow", this year's observance highlights the urgent need for stronger partnerships, increased investment, and shared responsibility to combat air pollution.

Kids ask climate questions

Screenshot of kids ask climate questions
Connect4Climate

Kids Ask Climate Questions is a great series from Connect4Climate where kids ask climate experts the big questions.

This episode sees a nine-year old from the USA ask UNEP's communications officer Laura Fuller a question about air pollution. You can watch the video here.

Collaboration helps tackle air pollution in Latin America and Caribbean

Aerial view of rainforest
UNEP

This year’s International Day of Clean Air for blue skies features a call for collective action to tackle air pollution, which claims almost 7 million lives a year.

A key part of that process, say experts, is creating solid partnerships, increasing regional cooperation and boosting investments to make the world’s air cleaner.

UNEP has been leveraging those principles to help the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean counter air pollution, which remains a serious issue in the region.

UNEP activities in support of the region's countries include capacity building for comprehensive and effective air quality management through working sessions with experts and facilitating the exchange of experiences between countries.

Read the rest of the story here.

Inside the data: Air Pollution Action Note

Graphic visualisation of pollution data
UNEP

Data around air pollution can often be complex, but UNEP’s Pollution Action Note displays the global state of air pollution, major sources, the impact on human health, and national efforts to tackle this critical issue, in easy to understand visuals.

Explore the data here.