Background: The Mexico City Metropolitan Area has an expansive urban population and a long history of air quality management challenges. Poor air quality has been associated with adverse pulmonary and cardiac health effects, particularly among susceptible populations with underlying disease. In addition to reducing pollution concentrations, risk communication efforts that inform behavior modificat...

Communicating information about environmental risk to the people most affected by it is one of the major challenges faced by risk managers and community decision makers. Changing human behavior is a far more complex task than designing water retention systems or managing storm water overflows. On a personal level, many people resist warnings to stop smoking or wear a seatbelt, reduce calorie intak...

Exposure to air pollutants is associated with an increase in respiratory diseases, more frequently in the susceptible population (children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases).#KnowYourNumber (#conoceTuNumero) is the scale that reflects the health risks associated with air pollution levels and provides messages that serve as a guide to stay health...

In October 2017, NYU’s Marron Institute of Urban Management delivered a preliminary report to SEDEMA outlining the development of an indicator tool intended to improve air pollution risk communication in Mexico City. The primary objective was to provide a quantitative means for improved risk communication via a health-based indicator that is both simple in construction and easy to use. This indica...

The guidelines for the first national Air Quality Index, the Air and Health Index (Índice AIRE y SALUD - IAyS), were established in NOM-172-SEMARNAT-2019, which came into effect in 2020. The main objective of this NOM was to standardize and provide a single method for obtaining an Air Quality Index for all cities and metropolitan areas in the country that have an atmospheric monitoring system. Thi...

This webpage explains the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI), a 1–10+ scale used to communicate the health risks associated with local air pollution in Canada. It describes the four risk categories and corresponding health recommendations, including guidance for people more vulnerable to poor air quality, and explains that the AQHI is calculated using ground-level ozone, particulate matter and nitrog...

The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) compiled by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of Hong Kong informs the public of the short-term health risk of air pollution in Hong Kong and helps the public take precautionary measures to protect their health.  Here you can learn how the AQHI works and what it can tell you about the short-term health risk of air pollution....

In response to a call by experts for WHO to promote health-based AQIs (29) and building on WHO’s recent work to support evidence-based risk communication (5,15,29–31), including at the country level (32), the current report aims to provide a comprehensive overview of AQIs from a public health perspective. The report focuses on health-based AQIs or AQHIs, including a review of existing practices, s...

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pursues its mission to protect human health and the environment, EPA staff practice risk communication every day. Effectively communicating science and potential health risk is one of the most important jobs we have. The SALT Framework is based on a process of Strategy, Action, and Learning and is supported by Tools that together provide a research-based...

Why these guidelines were developed (objectives and scope)These guidelines aim to provide WHO Member States, partners and stakeholders involved in emergency preparedness and response with evidence-based, up-to-date, systems-focused guidance on:approaches for building trust and engaging with communities and affected populations;approaches for integrating risk communication into existing national an...