Cities are rapidly becoming the defining residential space of human life. Over 55% of the global population lived in urban areas in 2018, a proportion projected to reach nearly 68% by 2050, according to the United Nations (UN).
While this unprecedented urban growth fuels innovation and economic activity, it simultaneously concentrates human exposure to environmental stressors and intensifies urban environmental pressures. In this context, the World Health Organization (WHO) has underlined the multifaceted challenges and severe risks that poor air quality poses to socioeconomic activities and human health. And although emissions – such as NO₂, SO₂, CO₂ and O₃ – are the usual suspects when it comes to air quality degradation, our recent study highlights that atmospheric dust that accumulates over urban areas represents an additional and considerable, yet frequently overlooked, contributor to adverse health implications.
