Asia has experienced strong economic growth in the past few decades, lifting millions out of poverty. However, this has not been without environmental costs. In most cases, development has been accompanied by environmental degradation in various forms including air pollution which is one of the biggest environmental health risks especially in developing countries and cities in Asia. The United Nations estimates that well over 2.2 billion people in Asia will live in cities by 2026, and this will grow to more than 3.3 billion people by 2050. While more than half the population of Asia live in cities less than 8% of Asia’s population breathes air that meets the World Health Organization Air Quality standards for PM2.5.

Hence, we cannot solve the problem of air pollution in Asia if we don’t have targeted interventions for cities in Asia.

In this webinar, participants learned about selected cities that previously had chronic air pollution problems but were able to undertake interventions that resulted in improved air quality. The panelists recommended air quality improvement measures that can be applied to Asian cities.