Air pollution is the leading environmental risk factor for poor health in Central, South and Southeast Asia. Residents across the three regions are routinely exposed to levels of air pollution above the guidelines set by the World Health Organization, yet there is limited funding to improve air quality across the regions. This new SoGA report covers 23 countries in Asia and highlights key data and trends for each region.
Key findings in the report include:
- In Central Asia, levels of air pollution exposure routinely exceed WHO guidelines for PM2.5, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Exposure to air pollution resulted in more than 63,000 deaths across the region in 2021.
- In 2021, there were 630,000 deaths from exposure to air pollution in Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar, air pollution ranks as the leading (#1) risk factor for deaths.
- South Asia, home to some of the most populous countries in the world, has some of the highest burden of disease from air pollution globally, with nearly 2.7 million deaths attributed to air pollution in 2021. In India, almost 35% of all deaths in the country were related to air pollution.
- Main sources of air pollution vary across Central, South, and Southeast Asia; they include windblown dust, household solid fuel use, transport, energy production, and seasonal sources such as winter heating, agricultural burning, or peatland fires.
- Across the three regions, more than one billion people use solid fuels for cooking, and nearly 1.8 million deaths were attributed to exposure to household air pollution in 2021.
- With a changing climate, exposure to ozone has also increased in the last decade, especially in South Asia.
- Many countries across the three regions have launched efforts to improve air quality monitoring, undertake air quality management, and strengthen local infrastructure and capacity.
Read the Report
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