BANGKOK: A surprise improvement in air quality in South Asia in 2022 drove a decline in global pollution, with favourable weather a likely factor, a new report said on Wednesday ( Aug 28 ).
But the region continues to breathe the world’s most polluted air, with its residents losing more than 3.5 years of life expectancy on average, the annual Air Quality Life Index ( AQLI ) warned.
And most locations on the planet either have no pollution standards or are not adhering to what they have set, putting their people at risk for air quality that leads to a wide range of health issues.
South Asia’s air pollution has increased annually for 20 years, but dish information for 2022, the most recent time, revealed an unexpected 18 % decrease.
According to the report produced by the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute ( EPIC ), the declines were observed in every nation in the region excluding Sri Lanka.
It is safe to say that favorable weather conditions may include contributed to the reduced PM2.5 levels in South Asia, referring to little particulates that may go deep into the body.
The common characteristics of the collapse, along with the above-average snowfall across the area in 2022, lend assistance to that concept.
The statement added that “only time will tell whether plan changes are having an impact,” warning that South Asian residents are also breathing heat eight times more polluted than the World Health Organization deems safe.
The report stated that understanding and maintaining these cuts will require continual studies, efforts to enforce policies, and monitoring the effects of policy initiatives.
Air pollution levels in South Asia decreased by 9 % globally, while poor air quality elsewhere, including in the Middle East and North Africa, saw an increase of 13 % from the same time last year.