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

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.

Can Economic Growth and Environmental Protection Achieve a “Win–Win” Situation? Empirical Evidence from China

“…Second, there has not been enough research conducted in the past to examine how these changes in the decoupling levels are integrated into the creation of policies. Existing studies mostly use single pollutants as indicator variables for environmental impacts, such as PM 2.5 , CO 2 , NO x , SO 2 , wastewater, etc., which emphasize a specific source of environmental pressure and do not enable a comprehensive quantification of environmental impacts or environmental performance [ 1 , 13 , 59 , 62 , 70 , 71 , 72 ]. One pollutant may be decreased as a result of a single source of attention, while others may see an increase.…”

Indicators of Climate Change, Geospatial and Analytical Mapping of Trends in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh: An Observational Study

“…However, with climate change accelerating the water cycle, certain provinces and cities have seen 400–500% more rainfall than the anticipated yearly average [ 10 , 11 ]. Furthermore, air pollution has spanned New Delhi, Lahore, and Dhaka, leading to severe air disasters impacting the general health of the residents [ 12 , 13 ]. Notably, reports find that G20 countries are collectively responsible for 80% of global emissions, whereas Lahore (Pakistan), New Delhi (India), and Dhaka (Bangladesh)—three South Asian countries hosting 1.8 billion residents—are facing large adverse effects of climate change [ 14 , 15 , 16 ].…”

“…Geospatial mapping and climate-based observational studies on South Asia have been published in the literature [ 12 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]; however, there is a paucity of data-based reports in this region. South Asia has large variability in geographical features, climate and landscapes [ 39 ].…”

Comment on Abdul Jabbar et al. Air Quality, Pollution and Sustainability Trends in South Asia: A Population-Based Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 7534

“…It is well established that both PM 2.5 concentrations [ 4 ] and PM 2.5 exposure [ 5 ] significantly increased in Pakistan during the last few decades. However, the PM 2.5 exposure data reported by Abdul Jabbar et al [ 1 ] do not show substantial variation between 1990 and 2017, and they state that the mean exposure to PM 2.5 in Pakistan over the period was “steady”. We illustrate the discrepancy in Figure 1 , which plots the time series of PM 2.5 exposure data (2010–2017) obtained from the World Bank database (which are used by Abdul Jabbar et al [ 1 ]) and PM 2.5 concentrations obtained from both the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) reanalysis data (2010–2017) and the World Health Organization (WHO) website ( , accessed on 17 October 2022) (2010–2016).…”

“…This comment discusses the use of PM 2.5 (mass concentration of fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microns) data in the recently published article entitled “Air Quality, Pollution and Sustainability Trends in South Asia: A Population-Based Study” by Abdul Jabbar et al [ 1 ]. The authors have used two types of PM 2.5 data, i.e., PM 2.5 concentrations and PM 2.5 exposure data.…”