Asian Cities’ Air Quality Getting Worse, Experts Warn

HONG KONG — Air pollution has worsened markedly in Asian cities in recent years and presents a growing threat to human health, according to experts at a conference that began on Wednesday.

Clean Air Asia, a regional network on air-quality management, aggregated data from more than 300 cities in 16 Asian countries and found that levels of fine particulate matter — a key pollutant in terms of its impact on human health — were below targets recommended by the World Health Organization in just 16 cities, most of them in Japan.

Pollution levels in 70 percent of the cities, mostly in fast-growing, less developed countries like China, India, Bangladesh and Mongolia, exceed even the most lenient of several targets recommended by the W.H.O., the organization said.

“The economic rebound in Asia following the global economic crisis of 2008 has accelerated sales of both passenger and freight vehicles as well as power generation,” Sophie Punte, Clean Air Asia’s executive director, said in a statement. This “is putting pressure on urban air quality in the region,” she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/06/world/asia/asian-cities-air-quality-getting-worse-experts-warn.html?ref=earth&_r=0

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4 Responses to Asian Cities’ Air Quality Getting Worse, Experts Warn

  1. margotlsalas says:

    Pollution is a big problem world-wide and I think that it should be targeted more, especially in the fast growing cities in Asia. As the article mentions, more than half of the people affected by pollution are in Asia and has caused a large number of premature deaths. I am glad to see that Clean Air Asia is taking initiative in attacking this problem that can lead to be a leading global problem as stated in the article. Countries world-wide should intend to learn about this organization so that they can build similar programs in their country in order to build a better world.

  2. huda says:

    Since labor is cheaper in Asian countries such as India and Chian, many jobs have been outsourced. China has become the largest manufacturing country in the world. It has the most factories which will effect the air. Air pollution has been a problem, however, it can be worst in these countries because they are known to be third world countries. It is important to educate these counties on such problems and I am glad to see there is something being done. Clear Air Asia might be the first step in cleaning the air.

  3. shervon says:

    I think countries need to be more aware about the harm done to the environment by pollution. Being careless and not heading wisdom can have a adverse effects on countries all around the world. A lot of people see pollution as a secondary problem but in reality it is critical. Although whats happening to China is sad,maybe news like this might make people more concerned about the great big planet that we live in. Maybe we should all give a second thought about how we treat planet earth.

  4. Yes this is a huge problem, especially in somewhere like China where the population is obviously way over what it should be, which definitely contributes to the issue, but people also have to take into account that China along with other countries that are mentioned, are some of the biggest manufacturing countries in the world! So I think the problem, or better off the solution should start somewhere with cleaner energy, such as hydrogen and electricity. And I know this is kind of off the topic, but I believe a big contribution now is all the trucks and vehicles they have on the roads right now, wether it be transportation of goods and services, or just humans in general, I believe that it should be mandatory to have these vehicles be Hybrid’s, which yes in the short run will be expensive, but in the long run will cut down a lot of gasoline costs, and contribute greatly to the issue of pollution.

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