Health risks of air pollution in Europe: HRAPIE-2 project: updated guidance on concentration–response functions for health risk assessment of air pollution in the WHO European Region

This WHO Regional Office for Europe report provides updated guidance on the concentration–response functions used to quantify the health impacts of air pollution. Building on the original 2013 HRAPIE recommendations, it incorporates the latest evidence from systematic reviews and epidemiological studies to support health risk assessments for key air pollutants, including particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide. The guidance covers both long and short-term exposure and includes concentration–response functions for a broad range of mortality and morbidity outcomes.

The report is intended for researchers, public health professionals, and policymakers undertaking health impact assessments or evaluating the benefits of air quality interventions. By providing harmonized, evidence-based recommendations, it supports more robust and comparable assessments of the health and economic impacts of air pollution across countries. Although developed for the WHO European Region, the methods and evidence are broadly applicable internationally and can inform clean air and climate policies aimed at reducing the burden of disease associated with air pollution.