Refreshing Lungs of the Earth

Nowadays, being able to witness a clear blue sky is a rare phenomenon owing to the increasing levels of air pollution. The presence of harmful substances in the air develops multiple environmental risks that include not only climatic change but also threatening human health. To address air pollution and to create awareness, the United Nations observes 7 September as the International Day of Clean Air.

A clear sky that we must aim for  Source: Edudwar

Every individual is aware of air being the primary and one of the most essential elements of life. The United Nations observation says that over ninety-nine per cent of people are suffering from avoidable diseases that are caused by polluted air. Air pollution has become the single biggest global risk that involves pollution born from the indoor and outdoor environment. Accounting for cooking with wood and kerosene, burning of wastes and fossil fuels,  industrial emissions,  transportation, microbial decaying, mining operations, and much more stands as the enemies of oxygenated and purified fresh air.  Carelessness of humans and because of nature many wildfires have happened that produce hazardous smoke that irritates eyes and even leads to chronic lung and heart diseases. Pollutants from these mix with the pure air, and circulate the impure air which is breathed by millions and millions of people.

Apart from human respiratory issues, even animals also suffer due to air pollution. They impacted plants and crops, questioning the food security and unpredictable climatic change. This climatic change is also a reason for deteriorating air quality. According to 2016 research, a shocking truth was noted that around the world, over 6.5 million people have met premature deaths due to this transboundary. This was because of the contamination of air by various avoidable factors. Understanding all the deleterious upshots of polluting the air in the atmosphere, a day was donated to create awareness of healthy and clean air.

These death rates attract the attention of the United Nations. Its General Assembly adopted a resolution 74/212 in 2019 to observe 7 September as the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. Hence, the first inaugural day was in 2020 promoting the activities to improve the quality of air. A wide group of people took part ranging from government sectors, different communities, and a huge public. The Assembly found many ways to encourage air pollution reduction and create awareness about its terminal effects.

Many workshops, seminars, events and awareness-raising activities, educational programs, were conducted to spread the air quality policies with engagement and encouragement for clean air. One of the global campaigns is the Alliance for Clean Air, an initiation started by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to bring different sectors and organisations together to exchange ideas, facts, and practices for the mutual benefit of public-private partnerships. In 2016, Breathlife, another global campaign launched to create a healthy awareness to understand the detrimental effects of air pollution.

The United Nations highlights the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies with different themes yearly. The very first theme of the day was 'Clean Air for All' in 2020. In 2021, the theme was 'Healthy Air, Healthy Planet'. In 2022 was a rhythmic theme, 'The Air We Share', followed by 'Together for Clean Air' in 2023.

These efforts were taken not for any individual or organisation’s benefit but for the global benefit. It is everyone’s responsibility to keep the sky (environment) clean. Every person should pursue the fresh air and educate the unaware people. Join hands collectively and stand imperatively to bring back the vitality of ecosystems, making the world a better place to live.