AUTHOR=Adebayo-Ojo Temitope Christina , Wichmann Janine , Arowosegbe Oluwaseyi Olalekan , Probst-Hensch Nicole , Schindler Christian , Künzli Nino 

TITLE=A New Global Air Quality Health Index Based on the WHO Air Quality Guideline Values With Application in Cape Town

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=68

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2023.1606349

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2023.1606349

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Objectives:</bold> This study developed an Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) based on global scientific evidence and applied it to data from Cape Town, South Africa.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Effect estimates from two global systematic reviews and meta-analyses were used to derive the excess risk (ER) for PM<sub>2.5</sub>, PM<sub>10</sub>, NO<sub>2</sub>, SO<sub>2</sub> and O<sub>3</sub>. Single pollutant AQHIs were developed and scaled using the ERs at the WHO 2021 long-term Air Quality Guideline (AQG) values to define the upper level of the “low risk” range. An overall daily AQHI was defined as weighted average of the single AQHIs.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Between 2006 and 2015, 87% of the days posed “moderate to high risk” to Cape Town’s population, mainly due to PM<sub>10</sub> and NO<sub>2</sub> levels. The seasonal pattern of air quality shows “high risk” occurring mostly during the colder months of July–September.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The AQHI, with its reference to the WHO 2021 long-term AQG provides a global application and can assist countries in communicating risks in relation to their daily air quality.</p>