What: The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) Student Design Awards, in partnership with the Circular Design Lab and the World Resources Institute (WRI) Ross Center for Sustainable cities, launches a global competition for designs that advance #CleanAirforAll.

Download the brief here, take it to your classrooms and friends, and apply your creativity to solve this important sustainable development challenge.

Leaders and governments describe their experiences with tackling health and climate challenges through clean air action in cities, regions and countries as the world marks the first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies.

Read the full story here.

In a message to mark the first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls on the world to rethink how societies, cities, transportation, food and energy are organised. Against climate change, air pollution, social and economic inequalities and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, he indicates the need for the world to build back better. 

"As we stand at this pivotal crossroads, let’s make the choice for clean air and blue skies. It is within our reach."

What are you doing to clear the air?

Join the conversation: #CleanAirForAll

On 7 September 2020, for the first time ever, the world will join together to mark the UN's International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. The theme for 2020 is "Clean Air for All".

UN Secretary-General António Guterres outlines why air pollution is a preventable risk. He calls for us all to work together to build a better future with clean air for ever.

"As we recover from the coronavirus pandemic, the world needs to pay far greater attention to air pollution, which also increases the risks associated with COVID-19."

What are you doing to clear the air?

Join the conversation: #CleanAirForAll

#COVID19 lockdowns have shown that a cleaner sky is possible. That people are willing to listen to science. That we can act quickly to protect human health. We must take similar urgent action to lift the smog of air pollution & ensure #CleanAirForAll #ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/qMjbqrS6SH

— Inger Andersen (@andersen_inger) September 4, 2020

What are you doing to clear the air?

Join the conversation: #CleanAirForAll

What: Visualise the air quality in India using AiR, an Android-based mobile application. AiR considers the air quality measured by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in a locality that is detected by the users’ GPS or in a locality of users’ choice, and visualizes various air pollutants present in the locality and displays them in the users’ surroundings. AiR also creates awareness in an interactive manner about the different pollutants, sources, and their impacts on health. The app can be used to view air pollutants across 220 stations in India.

Find more information here.

What: This webinar is part of the UN’s International Day of Clean Air for blue skies and draws on the experiences of a wide range of experts who will explore how to address the air pollution problem in a holistic way, and through multiple approaches. The webinar will host an expert panel to explore the links between air pollution, health, COVID-19 recovery and climate mitigation, and discuss holistic solutions to address these issues.

The webinar will be chaired by Dr Johan C.I. Kuylenstierna, Air Pollution Research Leader, Stockholm Environment Institute.

When: 7 September 2020; 15:00 -16:30 BST. Register here.

Find more information here.

What: Addressing air pollution is one of Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T) priorities. In 2019, at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, T&T committed to updating its Air Pollution Rules, 2014 to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines interim target 3 for PM2.5 by the end of 2025. The country has deployed and strengthened a nationwide Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network (AAQMN) that produces publicly available real-time air quality information. In June 2020, T&T joined the Breathe Life campaign to showcase its actions and raise awareness among its citizens, being the first Caribbean country to join the network.

To commemorate the UN International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, T&T has partnered with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to prepare a webinar session to discuss the challenges and opportunities for public health, air quality and NCDs amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the goals for a healthy recovery strategy.

When: 7 September 2020 ; 10:00am - 12:00pm AST. Register here.

What: Unbreathable: The Fight for Healthy Air is a timely, powerful look at fifty years of the United States Clean Air Act and the challenges we still face to ensure healthy air for everyone. Weaving historical milestones with current-day stories of environmental injustice, the film is an excellent tool for education and community engagement.

Watch the film now.

What: A digital art show by curated by Selva Ozelli in observance of the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. The show includes paintings of the seas, trees, flowers which are efficient carbon sinks– that alleviate carbon dioxide pollution. It also includes paintings of urbanization, wildfires which enhance carbon dioxide pollution that create adverse health effects including COVID-19, global warming and diminishment of biodiversity. The artists include:

• Semine Hazar – Lighthouse in a Storm, Sunset
• Gunay Isemova – Morning Haze
• Fatma Kadir – Lonely Tree 1 & 2
• Selva Ozelli – Heartbreak Weather – Inertia in the Face of Wildfires, Wildfires in the Time of Corona
• Resul Uzay Rzayev – Silhouette, Glacier
• Ilhan Sayin – Geranium in the Haze, Pink Breath of Spring

Watch the art show here .