Theme: Sustainable
Dimension: Protect, repair and manage the environment
Metric
Annual average exposure to outdoor air pollution of PM2.5 (particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less)
Why does this matter
Clean air is critical to a healthy population. There is a strong body of evidence that long term exposure to PM2.5, even at low concentrations, can cause a range of adverse health effects including cardiovascular and respiratory disease, reduced lung function, cancer, and reduced life expectancy.1
Has there been progress
There are geographical limitations on measuring air quality so it is challenging to draw broad conclusions. 31 of the 35 monitoring stations for which data was available for both 2017-18 and 2021-22 improved.2 Air quality was negatively impacted by the Black Summer bushfires which caused a spike in PM2.5 particles in 2019-20.