From Greece to Canada to Russia, it has been another long summer of wildfires in the northern hemisphere. And aside from the devastation such fires have on local communities and ecosystems, they contribute hugely to air pollution, sometimes thousands of kilometres away

Ireland is celebrating International Day of Clean Air for blue skies for the first time with a number of events on in the southern city of Cork.

Highlights of the day include a light show at Cork City Hall, an air quality information hub hosted in the Library on Grand Parade, a lunch-time cycle to Fitzgerald’s Park and an evening time Clean Air Day Roundtable discussion in City Hall.

You can find more information here.

Long-term cleaner air can be achieved in the region with more sharing of data and more coordination, according to a new article from the Stockholm Environment Institute. The air pollution problem in the region is acute: In 2023, local governments in Bogota , Santiago and Lima declared environmental alerts due to the high concentrations of particulate matter, which are tiny particles such as dust, dirt, soot and other solids and liquids in the air.

Read the full article here.

Marking the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a call for increased international cooperation to address the “global emergency” of worsening air pollution.

“Global problems require global solutions. We must act together for clean air,” said Guterres. “Together, we must accelerate a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels, particularly coal, towards clean renewable energy, while ensuring that no one is left behind.”

You can read the full story here.

The Stockholm Environment Institute, and UNEP Regional Office for Africa, Safaricom, Athletics Kenya, and the Slum Dwellers International Kenya is hosting the fourth annual International Day of Clean Air for blue skies celebrations in Nakuru, Kenya. This year’s event is themed, ‘Together for Clean Air’ and highlights the need for stronger partnerships, increased investment and shared responsibility in order to overcome air pollution.

Find out more about this event.

Air pollution knows no borders. That was the message from Martina Otto, Head of the Secretariat of the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition, on International Day of Clean Air for blue skies.

“With this year’s theme, Together for Clean Air, we want to encourage collaboration across borders and boundaries, between sectors and beyond silos to reduce air pollution and leverage finance and investments towards air quality measures and solutions,” she said.

Read the full interview here. 

As world leaders gather in Nairobi, Kenya this week for a week-long series of meetings on the climate crisis, the issue of air pollution will be percolating in the background. Many of the potential ways to lower greenhouse gas emissions – from shifting to cleaner vehicles to using less-polluting cooking fuels – can also help improve air quality. That is considered crucial in Africa; the continent could prevent 880,000 deaths a year by reducing air pollution.

In a video message to mark International Day of Clean Air for blue skies, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen called for a collective push to address air pollution.

“Air cannot be contained by human boundaries. Dirty air in one city or country becomes dirty air in another,” she said. “I call on governments, the private sector and all parties to increase action and investments and work together to beat air pollution.”

You can watch the full message here. 

Greenpeace has launched a blog highlighting and celebrating some of their champions of clean air.

The champions are ordinary people who are fighting against air pollution and inspiring and empowering their communities.

For more information on the champions, who come from Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo, visit the Greenpeace blog here.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, will be holding the 3^rd International Forum on Transboundary Air Pollution in Seoul and online.

The event, held on 8 September  at 14:00 (GMT +9), will be led by SEI research leader Johan Kuylenstierna , who will be discussing his report “Developing regional cooperation on air pollution in Northeast Asia: transferring lessons from Europe and North America, progress and future development.”

Kuylenstierna will be joined by a panel of expert speakers to discuss scientific and data-based approaches to combating air pollution.

More information on the conference can be found here and registration is here .