Indoor Air 2026, the premier global conference on indoor air quality (IAQ), opened its doors on 15 June 2026 to more than 900 academics and experts from around the world. 

The four-day event is convened by the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) and organised by the Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) together with the Department of the Built Environment under the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). This global platform brings together leading scientists, engineers, medical practitioners, policymakers, and industry professionals to address critical challenges in indoor air quality—from airborne disease transmission to smart building technologies and IAQ policy. 

The conference theme, “Enhancing Wellbeing in Existential Challenges: Deepening Understanding, Building Resilience”, prioritises human wellbeing and recognises understanding and resilience as key drivers of change against a plethora of challenges, including climate change, pandemics, and decarbonisation. 

More than 1,000 submissions were received for Indoor Air 2026, with over 900 papers to be presented across key subthemes. Singapore researchers contributed more than 50 papers to the conference, held at the Singapore Management University (SMU). 

Indoor Air 2026 is supported by a coalition of institutional organisations, including the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), the Centre for Liveable Cities Singapore, and the National Environment Agency (NEA), as well as private sector partners. 

A medical-engineering game plan for airborne outbreaks 
A high-profile late-breaker session will be held on Thursday, 18 June 2026, at Indoor Air 2026, bringing together world-leading experts to examine how engineering controls can prevent airborne outbreaks in confined, high-occupancy environments. 

Co-convened by Dr. Julian Tang (University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester UK), a medical expert specialising in airborne transmission and clinical virology, and Professor Chandra Sekhar (Department of the Built Environment, NUS CDE), an engineering expert specialising in building ventilation and indoor air quality, the session will also feature five international and local experts: 

• Distinguished Professor Lidia Morawska (Queensland University of Technology, WHO advisor)
• Professor Donald Milton (University of Maryland, airborne transmission expert)
• Professor Paul Tambyah (National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, infectious disease specialist) 
• Dr. Kang Chang Wei (A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing) 
• Professor Bill Bahnfleth, PhD, PE (Penn State University, ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer)
• This session will explore practical engineering controls, including ventilation optimisation, outdoor-air strategies, airflow management, and other infrastructure measures, alongside the policy and cost-effectiveness arguments needed to implement them. 

The session will also address a critical gap: how to conduct rigorous, engineer-led outbreak investigation research in collaboration with the medical fraternity, including candidate study designs such as tracer-gas and smoke visualisation, manikin-based experiments with harmless surrogates, and computational fluid dynamics supported by validation data.

Global pledge for healthy indoor air 
On Wednesday, 17 June 2026, Indoor Air 2026 will host a signing ceremony for the Global Pledge for Healthy Indoor Air—the first time the global community has formally declared that clean indoor air is fundamental for protecting health and safeguarding well-being. 

The pledge brings together the three principal communities driving indoor air quality forward: the scientific community (ISIAQ), the engineering and standards community (ASHRAE), and the advocacy community (Air Club). The Singapore Green Building Council (SGBC) will be among the signatories, joining a growing global movement to position healthy indoor air as a public health priority. 

The signing ceremony follows a plenary session featuring Dr. Sandro Demaio, Director and Head of the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health; Nicholas Reece, Lord Mayor of Melbourne; and Marina Mijuskovic, Executive Director of the Montenegrin Institute for Advanced Innovation. 

Professor Tham Kwok Wai, Conference President of Indoor Air 2026, from the Department of the Built Environment, NUS CDE, noted, "Indoor air quality is no longer a niche technical concern – it is a health imperative that affects how we live, work, and learn in dense urban environments. The knowledge exchanged here over the next four days will deepen insights, drive innovation, and shape building standards and policies for years to come." 

Er. Yvonne Soh, Conference Vice President (Executive) of Indoor Air 2026 and CEO of SGBC, added, "This is the first time SGBC is organising a major international scientific conference, and we are proud to welcome the global indoor air community to Singapore. With over 900 papers and 50+ contributions from local researchers, this conference demonstrates Singapore’s ability to convene world-class expertise while advancing our own green building journey through initiatives like Go 25. The collaborations forged here will accelerate solutions for healthier, more climate-resilient indoor environments across the tropics." 

"Since the first Indoor Air conference was held in Copenhagen in 1978, this series has been the world’s leading scientific platform for advancing indoor air quality knowledge," said Professor Kerry Kinney, President of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ). “As climate change and urbanisation pressures intensify around the world, the knowledge exchanged this week is even more critical to shape a healthier, more resilient indoor environment globally.” 

Photo credit: Singapore Green Building Council