International Day of Clean air for blue skies

The International Day of Clean Air for blue skies (Clean Air Day) recognises the importance of reducing air pollution – the single greatest environmental health risk globally, and one of the main avoidable causes of death and disease globally.  

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) worked with the United Nations Environment Programme and the Republic of Korea to advocate for the day to be adopted by resolution at the UN General Assembly in 2020.

Encouraged by the increasing interest of the international community in clean air, and emphasizing the need to make further efforts to improve air quality, including reducing air pollution, to protect human health, the General Assembly decided to designate 7 September as the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies.

The theme for the fourth annual International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, "Together for Clean Air", highlights the urgent need for stronger partnerships, increased investment, and share responsibility for overcoming air pollution. Air pollution, indoors and outdoors, directly impacts human and ecosystem health. We all share and breathe the same air; thus, we all have a responsibility to protect our atmosphere and ensure healthy air for everyone.

Why Clean Air?

Each year an estimated 6.7 million prematurely deaths are attributed to indoor and outdoor air pollution. Particularly in developing countries, air pollution disproportionately affects women, children and the elderly – especially in low-income populations – as they are often exposed to high levels of ambient air pollution and indoor air pollution from cooking and heating with wood fuel and kerosene. 

Polluted air also exacerbates climate change through the role of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). SLCPs are among the pollutants which affect both human health and near-term warming of the planet. They persist in the atmosphere for as little as a few days or up to a few decades, so reducing them can have an almost immediate health and climate benefits for those living in places where levels fall. 

Due to this dual focus, the CCAC continues to be a leading voice raising awareness and encouraging action around Clean Air Day. We aim to: 

• Raise public awareness at all levels—individual, community, corporate and government—that clean air is important for health, productivity, the economy and the environment. 

• Demonstrate the close link of air quality to other environmental and developmental challenges such as – most and foremost – climate change and the global Sustainable Development Goals.   

• Promote and facilitate solutions that improve air quality by sharing actionable knowledge best practices, innovations, and success stories. 

• Bring together diverse international actors working on this topic to form a strategic alliance to gain momentum for concerted national, regional and international approaches for effective air quality management. 

Our Role

Since 2019 the CCAC has played a leading role in advocacy and coordination of the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies. We have done so through the coordination of a dedicated scientific advisory panel, high-level ministerial cooperation,  supporting the compilation of regional integrated air quality assessments, and convening of regional conferences and workshops to amplify cross border cooperation.