The SDG 11.6.2 Working Group : Summary report describes the dialogue of a working group convened by WHO of sister UN agencies and international institutions involved in air quality activities to discuss the reporting criteria for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator 11.6.2 - air quality in cities - and leverage action.

The main objective of these updated global guidelines is to offer health-based air quality guideline levels, expressed as long-term or short-term concentrations for six key air pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. In addition, the guidelines provide interim targets to guide reduction efforts of these pollutants, as well as good practice statements for the management of certain types of PM (i.e., black carbon/elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, particles originating from sand and duststorms). These guidelines are not legally binding standards; however, they provide WHO Member States with an evidence-informed tool, which they can use to inform legislation and policy. Ultimately, the goal of these guidelines is to help reduce levels of air pollutants in order to decrease the enormous health burden resulting from the exposure to air pollution worldwide.

The harm to Pakistanis’ health, economy, and environment from urban air pollution is among the highest in South Asia, exceeding several high-profile causes of mortality and morbidity in Pakistan. This report details a broad spectrum of research on Pakistan’s air quality management challenges and presents concrete steps to achieve improvements.

This report assesses what evidence exists for the ways in which local air quality could influence local economic growth and how those effects might be relevant to the Pittsburgh region.

The United States and China are the top two energy consumers in the world. As a consequence, they are also the top two emitters of numerous air pollutants which have local, regional, and global impacts. Urbanization has led to serious air pollution problems in U.S. and Chinese cities; although U.S. cities continues to face challenges, the lessons they have learned in managing energy use and air quality are relevant to the Chinese experience. This report summarizes current trends, profiles two U.S. and two Chinese cities, and recommends key actions to enable each country to continue to improve urban air quality.

The steady growth in the number of vehicles on the road, heavy reliance on coal, use of dirty fuels for residential combustion, and extensive open burning are some of the major factors leading to the progressive deterioration of air quality in developing countries in Asia. And despite efforts to establish and implement air quality measurement syste