Air Quality

Better air quality provides safer and more liveable cities.

Improved air quality can provide safer cities, a more robust workforce and protection against the impact of future pandemics. The cost of illness and days lost from work are estimated to add up to £20bn a year.

To be part of the solution we need to work as a team to realise the positive outcomes of having a healthier and more sustainable environment.

Cleaner air benefits us all and protects our future generations. It helps improve our health and wellbeing, reduces pressure on our healthcare services, and protects our planet.

Pollution and health

Air quality matters

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Poor air quality can harm our health and the environment in which we live. This is why we believe clean air to be a basic requirement of human health and well-being.

The quality of air depends on three factors:

  • the amount of pollutants airborne at any one time
  • the rate at which they are released into the atmosphere
  • how long they remain in a particular area

Air pollution is a key environmental and social issue. It is a complex problem posing multiple challenges in terms of the management and reduction of harmful pollutants.

10 benefits of
improving air quality

Our actions today will protect our loved ones and our future generations.

01

Cleaner air can reduce staff sickness levels and improve retention and morale.

02

Cleaner air in our cities supports a healthy lifestyle and improves physical activity.

03

Clean air can increase life expectancy by up to a year.

04

Improving air quality could protect our most vulnerable from future pandemics.

05

Better indoor air can improve mood, cognitive abilities and even give you a better night’s sleep.

06

Improving air quality and therefore people’s health reduces pressure on our health services.

07

Better air can improve children’s learning abilities by up to 15%.

08

Improved air quality aids children’s lung function and development.

09

Healthy indoor air reduces asthma and allergy triggers.

10

Improving air quality has benefits not only for our health but for our planet in reducing climate change.

Air pollution particles may reach fetuses in the womb

air pollution health

Air pollution particles may reach fetuses in the womb, study finds