A Review of the Increasing Impact and Effects of Air Pollution Throughout Life and Before Birth

The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to declare air pollution as a public health emergency and the most significant environmental threat to human health, and as a leading cause of premature death for up to 7 million people annually. In 2021, the WHO updated the 2005 global air quality guidelines and identified the effects of the main environmental and domestic air pollutants: particulate matter of a diameter ≤10 μm (PM10) or ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide. However, an estimated 99% of the global population lives in areas where air pollution exceeds WHO air quality guidelines. Air pollution affects health throughout life and has an impact on fetal development, birth outcomes, childhood development, and chronic diseases in adults (heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and dementia), resulting in reduced life expectancy. In May 2025, at the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78), the WHO Member States approved a new global roadmap to address the global crisis of air pollution and the effects on health and mortality. On 1st December 2025, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) issued an updated statement following an evaluation of the effects of air pollution in the European Union (EU) Member States. This article aims to review what is currently known about the components of air pollution and their impact on human health, and to introduce recent global and European environmental and health recommendations.