WMO Air Quality and Climate Bulletin Sep 2025: Air Pollution and Climate Change Fuel Each Other
SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being | SDG 13: Climate Action
Institution: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
The latest World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Air Quality and Climate Bulletin highlights how climate change and air pollution reinforce each other in a destructive cycle. Wildfires, urban smog, and winter fog events intensify with rising global temperatures, while pollutants such as black carbon and ground-level ozone further accelerate warming. This interaction is reshaping health risks, ecosystems, and economies worldwide.
The report notes contrasting trends: eastern China has recorded improvements in fine particulate matter levels, while northern India remains a persistent hotspot. Severe pollution spikes linked to wildfires were recorded in Canada, Siberia, central Africa, and the Amazon basin. Meanwhile, reductions in sulfur emissions from shipping have improved air quality but slightly reduced the cooling effect of aerosols, paradoxically speeding warming.
In the Indo-Gangetic Plain, winter fog is no longer a purely meteorological event but is increasingly driven by construction dust, household fuels, and waste burning. WMO stresses the need for stronger ground-based observation networks in developing regions to improve monitoring, forecasting, and coordinated policy action.
Follow the full report here: