Air quality

Written by Dr Kathryn Emmerson and Dr Melita Keywood

patrula lakarana, lupatin pinikita, waynapuni mapali pumili pakana latu, tiyakuni.  waranta pumili milaythina nayri. 

Big fires with fast flames and much smoke make us cough and breathe with difficulty.   We need to heal our lands. 

tuylupa milaythina tunapri, narakupa manina, wurangkili, pakana rrala.  

Burn country wisely to nurture earth and sky and keep our people well. 

Statement from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre, in palawa kani, the language of Tasmanian Aborigines.
Although air pollutants make up less than 1% of our total atmosphere, they have a direct impact on our health outcomes. Air quality also affects the natural environment – ecosystems, plants and animals can all suffer from air pollution.
Air quality Artwork by Philip Wolfhagen
Find out the main messages of the chapter. Each chapter has 10 key points that summarise the findings of the chapter.
Start with Key findings
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Where are we headed? Understand the outlook of our air quality, based on how it is tracking now and how we are managing it. Also find out how recent change will affect the environment, our health and wellbeing.
Start with Outlook and impacts
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How is Australia’s air quality? Explore the various types of air pollution we experience and see what is most affecting our air quality around the country.
Start with Environment
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What are the pressures on our air quality? Identify the main sources of air pollution and find out how they are affecting our air and our own wellbeing.
Start with Pressures
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How effective is our management of air quality? Discover the main national agreements and policies, and how we manage sources of air pollution.
Start with Management
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Find out about the chapter authors and their analysis approach, the artwork appearing in the chapter, and available supplementary material.
Explore Authors and acknowledgements
Explore Assessments
Explore Graphs, maps and tables
Explore Case studies
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Explore findings from Air quality
Australia generally has good air quality, but some events and industries can impact our air 
Air quality is intrinsically linked to our comfort and wellbeing, and there may be no ‘safe’ level of air pollution 
Our air quality depends on what we are putting into the air 
Better information can reduce the impact of poor air quality 
Infographic showing that air quality issues affect all Australians, urban and rural, and air quality can be improved by measures such as cleaner transport and power generation.