To combat air inequality, governments and researchers must open their data

Why open air quality data mattersAir pollution data measured by governments across the world are a public good that can lead to transformational advances in public health when made openly available. Such advances are needed because, according to the WHO, one out of every eight deaths in the world is due to air pollution (WHO 2014). These deaths disproportionately occur in high population density, lower income countries (WHO 2016), which, where data are available, often correspond to regions with higher long-term levels of ambient pollution (Figure 1).