Poor air quality can make us more vulnerable to pandemics. That is why taking on air pollution today will help us make the post-corona world of tomorrow healthier, safer, and more resilient writes Roberta Arbinolo.

As researchers across the world investigate the link between air pollution and the spread of Covid-19, a growing body of evidence suggested that people living in polluted cities are more at risk from the coronavirus.

Long-term exposure to toxic air compromises our health and make us more vulnerable. Breathing polluted air can cause serious medical conditions including respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer, thus impairing our capacity to fight off lung infections.

Now more than ever, lowering air pollution levels is key to making us more resilient and will help the most vulnerable to fight this and future challenges. This is why scientists and campaigners are calling on governments and public authorities to enforce existing air quality regulations with no further delay and to make clean air part of their vision for the world after COVID-19.

“It’s important that we plan for a future beyond this crisis. We cannot afford to go back to business as usual, our governments must cut harmful air pollution at source,” said EEB air quality expert Margherita Tolotto.

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