The new WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines: What do they mean for South Africa?

Ambient air quality standards are a key policy lever in air quality management. In South Africa, the introduction of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) highlighted the shift in the focus of air quality management from source to receptor that was initiated with the introduction of the NEM:AQA. NAAQS were developed considering health impacts, ambient levels at the time and South Africa’s developing economy. There is currently a process starting to review these standards, and this process aligns with the recent release of the new World Health Organization (WHO) Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) in September 2021 (World Health Organization, 2021). This is the first update of WHO’s AQG since 2005. The WHO’s guidelines take into account recent evidence of the effect of air pollution on human health, and many of the guidelines are substantially lower than the previous guidelines (Table 1). In this editorial, we ask what the implications of the new WHO Guidelines are for air quality management and compliance in South Africa.