Conference on Air Pollution and Health seeks greater action

The World Meteorological Organization is one of the co-organizers of the World Health Organization’s first Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health. The conference seeks to increase commitments from governments, health authorities, international organizations, and the scientific community to act against this serious health threat.

Air pollution shortens the lives of around 7 million people each year, and nine out of 10 people breathe air polluted by traffic emissions, industry, agriculture or incineration, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,

“No one escapes from the womb to the grave,” he said, pointing out that children are especially vulnerable. “The cost of action is high but the cost of inaction is even greater.”

WMO is one of a number of international partners for the WHO conference from 30 October to 1 November. Earlier this year WHO and WMO made a joint commitment to improve health outcomes through better weather, climate, atmospheric and hydrological services and through improved monitoring and management of environmental health risks, such as hazardous air quality.

The two agencies are striving for closer coordination between meteorological and environmental monitoring services which observe and predict air quality, and health authorities, which deal with the impact of human exposure to pollutants.

WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said that closer cooperation between the two sectors was key because of the need for the medical profession to have reliable in situ measurements of major pollutants.

“Action to improve air quality and tackle climate change are both top global priorities,” said Mr. Taalas. “We can mitigate both problems with the same means by getting rid of fossil energy,” he said.

Ahead of the conference, WMO released a new report on Reactive Gases, focusing on ozone pollution.

In one of many practical steps, WMO is working to improve warnings of sand and dust storms, which adversely impact human health, the environment, agriculture and transport in more than 150 countries. The main sources of mineral dust are the arid regions of Northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, and China.

Original source: WMO
Published on 30 October 2018