Today, air quality in many Asian cities exceeds the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline limits for the protection of human health. According to WHO, 92% of the world’s population now live in places where air quality levels exceed health limits, and that 7 million premature deaths worldwide are linked to exposure to ambient and household air pollution. Air pollution also adversely affects the global environment and thus has economic repercussions. Understanding these impacts and taking appropriate action is an integral part of air quality management.

In Guidance Area 3, learners will understand the effects of air pollution and climate change on public health and the environment, the range of approaches used to assess health impacts, as well as the economic costs of air pollution. This module will be divided into three sections: 1) Air pollution impacts; 2) Health impacts assessment; 3) Air Pollution and the Environment; 4) Climate Change and Health; and 5) Economic Cost of Air pollution.