Air Quality and Human Health

Abstract

Air quality is a measurement that describes how good or poor air is present within the atmosphere. Good air contains a barely low amount of solid particles and chemical pollutants. Poor air consists of a high concentration of solid suspended particles along with gaseous pollutants, resulting in low visibility and damage to living organisms as well as the environment. Air pollutants, such as particulate matter and chemical pollutants (primarily ozone), disturb the energy balance of the planet, which directly influences or impacts climate in the worst ways. From an extremely local to the global level, the problem of degrading air quality has managed to leave its footprints all over the earth. As new epidemiological research became available, the consequences of air quality on human health became recognizable and rose to the top of the priority list by 2000. In 2019, the degradation of global air quality caused massive destruction over East Asia, Europe, and North America, taking away the lives of seven million people, extensive damage to crops, and a rapid reduction in biodiversity. Therefore, strong technical solutions and policies are needed to reduce the adverse effects of climate change. Policies developed for sustainable development of the environment globally as well as regionally can improve the condition of human health, vegetation quality and agriculture yield, which is degrading due to exposure to harmful pollutants. Recently, the clean air events at COP-27 also addressed the crucial role of air quality in climate change and human health and focused on the urgency of tackling air pollution in a global partnership. For all of these efforts to work, the enlightenment of the general public regarding degrading air quality and its impact is necessary. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023.