New report reveals nearly 1 billion people are unaware they face this growing hazard: 'One of the greatest risks to their health'

Billions of people worldwide have no effective way to track their air quality, which can prove to be a deadly environmental hazard.

What's happening?

OpenAQ is a nonprofit environmental tech organization that collects, analyzes, and shares data on air quality. Its 2024 report revealed that "one-third of countries worldwide lack government-level air quality monitoring, leaving nearly one billion people in the dark about one of the greatest risks to their health," per Health Policy Watch.

Billions of people are impacted by air pollution, and a lack of countrywide air quality monitoring has deadly consequences.

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Why is monitoring air quality important?

Air pollution is a silent killer. Tiny, invisible particles are responsible for the deaths of 13 people every minute worldwide, per the World Health Organization.

Breathing in pollutants such as smoke, industrial emissions, and vehicle exhaust exposes you to carcinogenic chemicals. Short-term exposure can cause respiratory issues including inflammation and asthma, and long-term exposure raises your risk of heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. Air pollution can even affect things such as in vitro fertilization success rates. 

Access to reliable air quality monitoring could save millions of lives and trillions of dollars. "Air pollution, mainly from fossil fuel emissions, kills more than eight million people annually and costs over $8 trillion worldwide, making it the largest environmental health risk," according to Health Policy Watch.

What's being done about the need for air pollution monitoring?

OpenAQ hopes that "by outlining the value of open data and best practices for data sharing, this assessment helps governments and other data providers move toward greater data transparency."

Since its last report in 2022, OpenAQ reported a slight increase in countries that monitor air quality. It also recognizes that this lack of monitoring isn't due to ignorance but rather a lack of funding and resources. To help countries access this necessary tech, OpenAQ's reports ask "funders to support less-resourced governments that are keen to monitor air quality and share data."

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