2 May 2017 - Launching today on World Asthma Day, Unmask My City, a global initiative in 10 cities on five continents, aims to promote practical solutions and create tangible city level policy changes that drive a clear, downward global trend in urban air pollution by 2030. This will result in significant reductions in illnesses and deaths as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information on the campaign, click here.

Photo 1: Skier Sofia Clarke photographed at Snowbird, Salt Lake City, USA, for the Unmask My City air pollution campaign. Sofia volunteers for local efforts to combat air pollution in Utah, as the frequency of the local inversion – a reversal of cold and warm air layers in the atmosphere that traps pollution – raises concerns about her health and the health of her community, and also impacts on her active lifestyle. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Greg McNevin

Photo 2: Emiliano Augusto Leutz Martins. Volunteer at "Bike Anjo" (Bike Angel) since June 2015. Bike Anjo encourages people to cycle and gives them advice. Began cycling to escape heavy traffic in Sao Paulo but now sees clear benefits to his health. Feels less susceptible to respiratory diseases which are worsened during the winter pollution peaks. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Jon Spaull

Photo 3: Edna Maria Lopes Camilo. She has been running since her husband, a marathon runner, died of cancer. When she can't walk or run all the way to work, she gets off the bus some stops before. "I only use my car to go to the supermarket". She works as an accountant in a second hand car showroom. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Jon Spaull

Photo 4: Dr Shuo Zhang, an Accident and Emergency junior doctor at King’s College Hospital, wears an LED face mask lit up with current air quality readings outside King’s College Hospital, London. Part of the Unmask My City air pollution campaign, the mask changes colour dynamically according to local air pollution levels, with the colours matching Air Quality Index standards for PM2.5 particulates. Here it glows green, showing pollution levels are ok according to World Health Organization standards. In London, fine particulates (PM2.5) is not the only problematic pollutants. London has reported air quality issues with nitrogen dioxide (NO2), coarser particulates (PM10), carbon dioxide (CO2) and black carbon. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Greg McNevin

Photo 5: 23 year old radio-television student Enes İshak Ordueri checks air pollution levels in front of Galata Tower in Galata, Istanbul. Enes is wearing an LED light mask for the Unmask My City air pollution campaign, whicih changes colour dynamically, according to real time measurements of local air pollution and according to Air Quality Index standards for PM2.5 levels. Here it is lit up yellow, showing pollution is roughly double World Health Organization recommended limits, risky for sensitive groups. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Greg McNevin

Photo 6: Dr Ben Oliveira, a Renal and General Medicine Doctor, cycles past University College London Hospital wearing an LED face mask lit up with current air quality readings. Part of the Unmask My City air pollution campaign, the mask changes colour dynamically according to local air pollution levels, with the colours matching Air Quality Index standards for PM2.5 particulates. Here it glows green, showing particulate pollution levels are ok according to World Health Organization standards. In London, fine particulates (PM2.5) is not the only problematic pollutants. London has reported air quality issues with nitrogen dioxide (NO2), coarser particulates (PM10), carbon dioxide (CO2) and black carbon. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Greg McNevin

Photo 7: Pollution streams out of a coal thermal power plant outside Sarıseki, Turkey. Heavy industry and coal power are among main factors driving increasingly poor air quality in the Iskenderun area, and due to its geography, pollution that collects in the bay lingers. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Greg McNevin

Photo 8: A villager from NTO Kuppam, Chennai, India, wears an LED face mask lit up with current air quality readings. Part of the Unmask My City air pollution campaign, the mask changes colour dynamically according to local air pollution levels, with the colours matching Air Quality Index standards for PM2.5 particulates. Here it glows yellow, showing pollution levels are at least double World Health Organization standards for healthy air. This is a good day for the small village, which is threatened by the growth of coal power, heavy industry and the relentless movement of trucks through it, and is known to experience far higher air pollution levels. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Greg McNevin

Photo 9: Fishermen cast nets alongside the NTECL Vallur Thermal Power Station in Ennore, Chennai. This region has been targeted with a disproportionate concentration of polluting industries – a garbage dump, coal-fired thermal power plants, chemical and petrochemical industries, ports, coal yards and fly-ash dykes. Ennore is both a site of environmental discrimination, and the epicentre of a community struggle to end the discrimination, revive the Creek and restore fisher livelihoods. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Greg McNevin

Photo 10: Allergist Dr Piotr Dąbrowiecki (PhD) wears an LED light mask in his Legionowo office as part of the Unmask My City air pollution campaign in Warsaw, Poland. The mask changes colour dynamically according to real time measurements of local air pollution levels, and according to Air Quality Index standards for PM2.5 particulates. Here it is green, indicating good air quality levels inside the building, however, the story is very different outside. Copyright: Global Call for Climate Action / Greg McNevinAlergolog, dr n. med.