Exposure to poor air quality is ranked among the top 10 leading global risk factors for disease. The lack of visibility of air pollution often results in delays in public policy and personal responses, till the problem is acute. Improving the collection and access of air quality data is the first step, to making it safe to breathe in Sri Lanka.
The WHO 2016 attributed approximately seven million premature deaths globally each year to exposure to polluted air. The larger share of these deaths (4.2 million) is estimated to be occurring in low-income and middle-income countries. Why is it possible for the air we breathe to compromise health and life expectancy, and how do we know how we might be impacted?