News

Failure to tackle climate challenges like air pollution is killing millions. How low-cost sensors enable cities to take targeted clean air action. Plus, air pollution increases likelihood of frailty, and more in our latest news roundup.

7.9 million deaths in 2023 were attributed to air pollution, according to the latest State of Global Air report. Poor air quality remains the second leading risk factor for death, with non-communicable diseases causing 86% of deaths linked to air pollution.

This International Day of Climate Action, we spotlight how community-led waste management initiatives are fighting air pollution and climate change. Grassroots projects in Ghana, Indonesia and South Africa are making neighbourhoods safer, providing employment, tackling global warming and improving air quality.

G20 adoption of landmark declaration on air quality shows a clear recognition by the world’s largest economies that cleaner air is essential for health, prosperity and climate ambition. The declaration puts air quality on the G20 agenda in its own right for the first time.

International development funding for fossil fuel projects rose by 80% in one year, while air quality still gets just 1% of development funding. The State of Global Air Quality Funding 2025 urges governments and donors to redirect finance towards tackling air pollution to ensure a fair, clean transition.

Recent headlines have sparked confusion by claiming that cutting air pollution contributes to global warming. We break down the science behind this apparent paradox, explaining how cleaning the air "unmasks" the true extent of warming that greenhouse gases have been causing all along. Learn why reducing air pollution remains essential for human health and effective climate action—and how we can tackle both challenges together.

Just a third of South Africa’s air quality monitoring stations are operational. London meets legal limits for nitrogen dioxide for the first time. Plus, how air pollution affects our sleep, and more in our latest news roundup.

Air pollution’s impact as major driver of poor health is affirmed by heads of state and government during the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases. But the declaration still has to be formally approved. It also fails to endorse existing targets to reduce air quality-related deaths, despite evidence that clean air action is affordable and achievable.

Across the world, city residents are powering action to tackle air pollution. Our 2025 Urban Clean Air Champions embody the creativity, courage, and persistence it takes to clean our air and create healthier cities for all.

Wildfire smoke is worse for our health than previously thought. European cities respond to heatwave air pollution spike. Plus, how UK nurses are tackling air pollution health harms at the root, and more in our latest news roundup.