REGIONAL DISPARITIES
Air pollution is a leading risk factor for death in Central, Southeast, and South Asia. Air pollution costs millions of lives and impacts everyone, from newborns to the older members of the communities.
Figure: Risk factors for death in Central, Southeast, and South Asia in 2021.
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.
• Across the region, 27% of the population is exposed to WHO IT-1 (35 μg/m3) for PM2.5.
• For children under 5, 25% of deaths are attributed to air pollution. In people over 70, 20% of deaths are attributed to air pollution.
• Exposure to NO2 remains high, and contrary to global trends, levels of NO2 are increasing in all Central Asian countries.
In Southeast Asia, while exposure to individual pollutants is lower than the global average, the impact on health remains high. In 2021, there were 630,000 deaths from air pollution.
• There was a 65% increase in ozone-related deaths between 2010 and 2021.
• There’s significant disparity in exposure to NO2 across the region: Singapore has among the highest NO2 exposures in the world while countries like Timor-Leste and Lao PDR have some of the lowest NO2 exposures.
• HAP is the second leading risk factor for deaths in Lao PDR, accounting for 13% of all deaths in the country. 94% of households in Lao PDR use solid fuels for cooking, exposing almost 7 million people to high levels of HAP each year.
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 almost 2.6 million deaths attributed to air pollution in 2021. In India, almost 35% of all deaths in the country were related to air pollution.
• There has been an 88% increase in ozone-related deaths between 2010 and 2021.
• When looking at deaths in children under 5 from household air pollution in Central, Southeast, and South Asia, 91% of deaths occurred in South Asia.
• Levels of NO2 have remained relatively stable across the region.
MULTITUDE OF SOURCES
Main sources of air pollution vary across Central, South, and Southeast Asia; they include windblown dust, household air pollution, and peatland fires. Across the region, over one billion people use solid fuels for cooking, around 40% of the region’s total population.
• In many countries in Central Asia, use of solid and fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) contributes to 20-30% of the estimated ambient PM2.5 levels.
• Southeast Asia experiences high levels of pollution from seasonal sources like peatland fires. Southeast Asia is home to 56% of the world’s peatlands, and the traditional slash-and-burn farming method, which involves the burning of trees in farming fields, has led to higher emissions of particulate matter and other pollutants.
• In South Asia, residential fuel combustion is the primary contributor to ambient PM2.5. In India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, residential sources account for more than 20% of ambient PM2.5
SIGNS OF PROGRESS
Many countries across the three regions have launched efforts to improve air quality monitoring, undertake air quality management, and strengthen local infrastructure and capacity.
Household Air Pollution
Across Central, South, and Southeast Asia, over one billion people use solid fuels for cooking, around 40% of the region’s total population. There has been mixed success in reducing reliance on solid fuels across the region, but countries like Viet Nam and Indonesia have seen reductions since 2010. In good news, the percentage of the population that is reliant on solid fuels has been decreasing since 2010 across South Asia.
Transportation
Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) continues to be an important risk factor for poor health across the globe. While high-income countries have made progress in reducing TRAP, in part due to air quality regulations and improvements in fuels and vehicular emission-control technologies, progress is lagging in countries in Central, South, and Southeast Asia. However, there are signs of progress:
• Countries like Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka have all adopted policies to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles.
• In Central Asia, Tajikistan has banned the import of vehicles older than 2013 into the country.
Regional Cooperation
Transboundary air pollution is a growing concern. Regional programs like the Asia-Pacific Regional Action Programme on Air Pollution, ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, and the Regional Strategy for Sand and Dust Storms Management, along with national programs, have increased data sharing and signal aspirational goals for coordinated action.