Clean air is not only an environmental goal — it is a foundation for health, learning, and quality of life.”
Clean air is increasingly recognised as a fundamental human right — essential to health, wellbeing, and quality of life. The air we breathe influences how we learn, work, and live, affecting physical health, cognitive performance, and overall wellbeing. Creating healthy environments is therefore a shared responsibility, connecting communities, institutions, industry, and policymakers.
In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly formally recognised the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a universal human right, reinforcing the global understanding that environmental quality is directly linked to human health and dignity. This recognition continues to guide national and local efforts worldwide to improve air quality and environmental health outcomes.
In recent years, the UAE has strengthened its commitment to improving air quality through initiatives that bring together public health, education, and environmental action. In 2025, this commitment became particularly visible through programmes that prioritise prevention, data-driven decision-making, and healthier indoor environments — reflecting a growing understanding that healthier spaces are key to building resilient and sustainable communities.
📎 Source: United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/76/L.75 — The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
https://www.un.org/en/ga/76/resolutions.shtml
Advancing Clean Air Through Knowledge, Policy, and Action
As awareness around environmental health continues to grow, the UAE has taken important steps to strengthen how air quality is understood, managed, and improved across different sectors. These developments reflect a broader shift toward prevention, data-driven decision-making, and healthier environments that support both wellbeing and sustainability.
Below are three important milestones shaping a healthier future for everyone.
1. HawAQM: Understanding the Air We Breathe Indoors
Did you know? People spend nearly 90% of their time indoors.
While outdoor air pollution often receives greater attention, indoor air quality plays an equally critical role in human health. Indoor environments can be influenced by ventilation systems, building materials, maintenance practices, and everyday activities — often without occupants being aware of their impact.
In 2025, the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre launched the HawAQM Indoor Air Quality Observatory, bringing together real-time monitoring, advanced sensing technologies, and data analytics to better understand air quality across homes, schools, and public buildings.
By turning air quality into measurable knowledge, HawAQM enables early identification of risks, supports improved ventilation strategies, and encourages healthier building design and operation. This initiative represents an important transition from reacting to air quality challenges toward preventing them — aligning environmental action directly with public health outcomes and long-term wellbeing.
📎 Source: Abu Dhabi Media Office – HawAQM Indoor Air Quality Observatory
📎 Additional coverage: Gulf News – Indoor Air Monitoring System
2. Schools That Support Health and Learning
Healthy air supports healthier learning.
Educational environments play a fundamental role in shaping both wellbeing and future environmental awareness. Students spend a significant portion of their day indoors, making air quality and environmental conditions essential factors in concentration, comfort, and learning performance.
Through ADEK’s Buildings and Facilities Policy, indoor air quality, ventilation, and maintenance standards have become stronger priorities across schools in Abu Dhabi. Regular inspections and environmental requirements help ensure that students and teachers learn in spaces designed for safety, wellbeing, and sustainability.
By recognising health as an integral part of educational excellence, schools are increasingly becoming living examples of sustainability in action — supporting not only academic success but healthier communities overall.
📎 Source: ADEK Buildings and Facilities Policy
3. Measuring Progress Toward Cleaner Air
What gets measured can be improved.
Meaningful climate and air quality progress depends on reliable data and transparent systems that allow improvements to be tracked over time. The UAE’s Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) System for air emissions represents a significant advancement in strengthening environmental governance.
The MRV framework enables consistent measurement, reporting, and verification of emissions across sectors, supporting informed policy decisions and reinforcing accountability as the country advances toward its Net Zero 2050 vision. By grounding environmental action in measurable outcomes, the UAE continues to strengthen its role as a regional leader in sustainability innovation.
📎 Source: WAM – UAE launches national MRV system
📎 Additional reference: Gulf News – MRV programme progress
Breathing Toward the Future
What makes these milestones particularly impactful is the way they connect policy, science, and community engagement. Clean air is not only about reducing emissions — it is about designing healthier spaces, empowering schools and communities, and building awareness around the air that sustains us every day.
Through Take a Breath, Goumbook continues to translate scientific knowledge into accessible learning and practical action, helping schools, families, and organisations better understand indoor air quality and its impact on daily life.
This is the future we believe in — where knowledge leads to action, and every breath supports a healthier UAE.
