The World Health Organization (WHO) released new Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) in 2021. These AQG reflect the large impacts that air pollution has on global health. They are based on comprehensive syntheses of the overwhelming body of evidence that has accumulated over the past two decades, demonstrating that health effects of air pollution are serious and can affect nearly all organ systems of the human body. Importantly, recent studies consistently show that the adverse health effects of air pollution are not only limited to high exposures but can be observed all the way down to very low concentration levels, with no observable thresholds below which exposure can be considered safe.
The WHO AQG are ambitious but contrast with global discrepancies in air quality trends observed over the past 30 years with most polluted areas in the South and East seeing further deteriorations whereas strong improvements prevail in the global North and West. To put the guidelines into action, major additional efforts are needed at all levels (international, national, local) and across all sectors (e.g., transport, energy, agriculture). To foster evidence based actions, to reduce the inequity in air quality both within and across countries, and to close the gap between national air quality standards and the new WHO AQG values, science will continue to play a fundamental role.
We welcome original research, reviews or commentaries on the health effects of air pollution that foster the translation of research to policy and action. We particularly encourage submissions of research from low- and middle-income countries that are most heavily affected by air pollution, and typically understudied. Investigations in marginalized communities in high-income countries for evidence based clean air policy and action will be of major interest too.

The Call is open from January 2023 until September 2024.

Please submit the complete manuscript. Articles accepted for publication after peer review will be published in the online special issue approximately 3 weeks after acceptance.

IJPH publishes Gold Open Access. Article processing charges (APCs) apply. The IJPH’s GLOBEQUITY program offers APC waivers for first authors from low- and middle-income countries.

All IJPH double-blind peer-review rules and author guidelines apply. Submissions must comply with IJPH rules for article type, length and format (please consult the information for authors on the IJPH website).

Contact: IJPH Editorial Office: ijph@swisstph.ch

Keywords: air pollution, clean air, air quality guidelines, cross-sectional policy action, evidence-based action, inequity in air quality, intervention studies, accountability, health effects, marginalized communities, particle matter, clean air policy, globalized air quality standards