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. 2022 Jun 20;19(12):7534.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19127534.

Air Quality, Pollution and Sustainability Trends in South Asia: A Population-Based Study

Saima Abdul Jabbar  1 , Laila Tul Qadar  2 , Sulaman Ghafoor  1 , Lubna Rasheed  3 , Zouina Sarfraz  4 , Azza Sarfraz  5 , Muzna Sarfraz  6 , Miguel Felix  7   8 , Ivan Cherrez-Ojeda  7   8
Affiliations

Air Quality, Pollution and Sustainability Trends in South Asia: A Population-Based Study

Saima Abdul Jabbar et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Introduction: Worsening air quality and pollution lead to numerous environmental health and sustainability issues in the South Asia region. This study analyzes India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal for air quality data trends and sustainability indicators.

Methodology: By using a population-based study design, six South Asian countries were analyzed using a step-wise approach. Data were obtained from government websites and publicly available repositories for region dynamics and key variables.

Results: Between 1990 and 2020, air quality data indicated the highest rise in CO2 emissions in India (578.5 to 2441.8 million tons) (MT), Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. Greenhouse gas emissions, from 1990 to 2018, nearly tripled in India (1990.4 to 3346.6 MT of CO2-equivalents), Nepal (20.6 to 54.6 MT of CO2-equivalents), and Pakistan, and doubled in Bangladesh. Methane emissions rose the highest in Pakistan (70.4 to 151 MT of CO2-equivalents), followed by Nepal (17 to 31 MT of CO2-equivalents) and India (524.8 to 669.3 MT of CO2-equivalents). Nitrous oxide nearly doubled in Bangladesh (16.5 to 29.3 MT of CO2-equivalents), India (141.6 to 256.9 MT of CO2-equivalents), Nepal (17 to 31 MT of CO2-equivalents), and more than doubled in Pakistan (27 to 61 MT of CO2-equivalents). On noting particulate matter 2,5 annual exposure, India saw the highest rise from 81.3 µg/m3 (in 1990) to 90.9 µg/m3 (2017), whereas trends were steady in Pakistan (60.34 to 58.3 µg/m3). The highest rise was noted in Nepal (87.6 to 99.7 µg/m3) until 2017. During the coronavirus disease 19 pandemic, the pre-and post-pandemic changes between 2018 and 2021 indicated the highest PM2.5 concentration in Bangladesh (76.9 µg/m3), followed by Pakistan (66.8 µg/m3), India (58.1 µg/m3), Nepal (46 µg/m3) and Sri Lanka (17.4 µg/m3). Overall, South Asian countries contribute to the worst air quality and sustainability trends regions worldwide.

Conclusions: Air pollution is prevalent across a majority of South Asia countries. Owing to unsustainable industrial practices, pollution trends have risen to hazardous levels. Economic, environmental, and human health impacts have manifested and require urgent, concerted efforts by governing bodies in the region.

Keywords: South Asia; air pollution; air quality; population trends; sustainability.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Step-wise breakdown of the employed methodology of epidemiological analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Air Quality Data Between 1990 and 2020 [15]. CO2 is expressed in million tons. Total greenhouse gases, methane, and NO2 are all expressed in million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalents.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Population-weighted exposure to ambient PM2.5 pollution expressed in µg/m3 [16].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Annual means of PM2.5 concentrations, depicted from 2018 to 2021 in µg/m3 [17]. Data were unavailable for Bhutan.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Sustainability Trends reported in the years between 2015 and 2020 reported as a percentage [18,19,20].
Figure 6
Figure 6
South Asian PM2.5 (in µg/m3) yearly average visual representation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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