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Factsheet on WHO AQG - Health Effects of Air Pollution: Supporting Information

Please note: As of 1 July 2025, the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (PHF Science) is the new name for the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR). Research and reports published prior to this date may reference the organisation’s former name.

Summary

Air pollution is a major hazard to human health and a leading cause of illness and death. In 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) published revised global air quality guidelines to offer quantitative, health-based recommendations for air quality management (WHO 2021). To support this update, WHO published a series of review papers evaluating the best available evidence on the effects of air pollutants on human health (Chen and Hoek 2020; Huangfu and Atkinson 2020; Lee et al. 2020; Orellano et al. 2020, Orellano et al. 2021; Zheng et al. 2021). This factsheet provides additional technical detail on how the systematic reviews informed the development of WHO’s revised global air quality guidelines.

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