97% of the world is breathing air considered to be “unhealthy” according to the WHO’s 2021 updated guidelines. Responsible for a host of ailments ranging from lung cancer and heart disease to cognitive impairment, air pollution is one of the defining global health challenges of our generation.
In recognition of the 2022 UN International Day of Clean Air, we welcome back Christa Hasenkopf, Director of Air Quality Programs and the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) at the Energy Policy Institute at University of Chicago (EPIC) to discuss the current landscape of global action on air pollution, and how the AQLI and EPIC are creating impact by making the impacts of air pollution more tangible.
In this episode:
?How the AQLI connects air pollution exposure with life expectancy (2:26)
?The WHO’s significant 2021 update to global air quality guidelines (6:18)
?Changes to the AQLI following the 2021 WHO update (7:40)
?The many health impacts of PM2.5 air pollution… (10:59)
?…and how those impacts compare to other disease burdens (11:59)
?How our perception of “good” air may differ from what the AQLI shows (13:57)
?How wildfires are impacting wellbeing in areas with otherwise “good” air quality (16:03)
?The opportunity for high-impact philanthropic funding to tackle air quality…(19:25)
☁️… and the opportunity for high-impact data solutions to tackle air quality (22:02)
✨The many reasons for optimism as the world tackles the twin challenges of air pollution and climate change (26:07)

Referenced in this episode:
The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI)
The AQLI 2022 Update Report
WHO’s 2021 updated air quality guidelines
Joined Up Action on Air Pollution and Climate Change - The Clean Air Fund
Air Pollution Kills Ten Million People Each Year: Why Do We Accept That As Normal? - David
Wallace Wells, New York Times
How can a $10million investment help address global air inequality? -Data Points Podcast (2021)
Berkeley Earth’s Searchable Air Quality Data


[Image courtesy of EPIC/University of Chicago]
[Music courtesy of Coma-Media via Pixaby]