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Air quality

  • Most important projects and stakeholders working in this area of public health, including intergovernmental organizations, national government bodies, and non-state actors.

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    Stakeholders & projects
    Organisations: 4

  • Information and evidence resources, issue briefs, case studies and evidence synthesis briefs that can inform policy-making.

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    Evidence and evidence-informed practice
    Databases: 2Overviews: 17

  • A collection of policies and analyses in this area of public health in the WHO European Region.

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    Policy & analysis
    Policy: 11Analysis: 1

  • A reference list of tools and methods to aid in the design, implementation and monitoring of policies in this area of public health.

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    Tools & methods
    Policy support: 3

  • Explore related indicators and visualizations, download data in Excel and CSV formats, analyze and share graphics.

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    Indicators & visualizations
    Indicators: 14Visualizations: 30

About the theme

Evidence shows that air pollution at current levels in European cities is responsible for a significant burden of deaths, hospital admissions and exacerbation of symptoms, especially for cardiorespiratory disease. While the hazardous properties of many common pollutants are still under intensive research, evidence-based policies demonstrate that health protection is possible and effective. WHO Regional Office for Europe works to make sure that the available evidence on the health risks of air pollution is used in public debate and in policy-making.

Featured indicator

  • Degree of implementation of policies to reduce exposure of children to SHS in the WHO European Region (Map)
  • Proportion of countries in the WHO European Region implementing policies to reduce exposure of children to SHS, legal action - ban (Bar chart)
Degree of implementation of policies to reduce exposure of children to SHS in the WHO European Region
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Infographics

  • Each year 1.7 million deaths of children under 5 are linked to the environment
  • Environmental risks include air pollution, chemical, poor water, sanitation and hygiene
  • Environmental exposures start in the womb, and can have effects throughout life
  • Air pollution: An unseen threat to children's health
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Featured stories

  • Enhancing national action on environment and health
    Enhancing national action on environment and health
    Every year, avoidable environmental risks account for at least 1.4 million deaths in the WHO European Region. These include air pollution, inadequate water and sanitation services, hazardous chemicals, poor waste disposal and climate change. More than 350 resources on environment and health have now been gathered through the European Environment and Health Process to aid the strengthening of national efforts to address the leading environmental determinants of ill health.
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  • Exploring the Health for All family of databases
    Exploring the Health for All family of databases
    WHO Europe’s Health for All family of databases are the Region’s gold-standard source of health statistics for monitoring and assessment tools in key health policy areas. Discover the wealth of information in the “Health for All explorer”.
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Browse all data stories (2)

Popular indicators