A report presented to Environment Southland's Strategy and Policy Committee yesterday outlined a collaborative approach to address the issue.
''It's a serious problem and we need to try and get on top of it, despite all the difficulties,'' Invercargill-Rakiura councillor Maurice Rodway said.
Contributing factors included domestic heating, socioeconomic factors and low-quality housing stock.
Council air quality scientist Owen West said air quality in the area had actually improved this year.
Four breaches of the National Environmental Standard for Air Quality were recorded in Invercargill and one in Gore, while last year there were 13 in Invercargill and two in Gore.
Under current legislation, the areas were to exceed the standard no more than once per year by 2020.
A partnership was formed between Environment Southland and the Institute of Environmental Science and Research towards the end of 2017 to achieve healthy and compliant air quality by 2025.
Cr Rodway said he supported the initiative but commitment was needed from ''outside agencies'' to engage with people in the community who were directly affected.
Two workshops had been run this year to encourage community engagement.
However, council acting director of policy, planning and regulatory services Lucy Hicks said the ''multi-pronged'' approach was still being developed.
