‘Striving For Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public Health In South Asia’: World Bank Report

• 30 Mar 2023

A report ‘Striving for Clean Air: Air Pollution and Public health In South Asia’ released by the World Bank has revealed that air pollution is responsible for 20 percent of premature deaths in Bangladesh.

• The report suggests that South Asian countries can reduce air pollution by working together in a coordinated manner.
• It identifies six major airsheds in South Asia with high spatial interdependence in air quality.
• It also states that 30 percent of air pollution in the largest cities of Bangladesh comes from India due to the predominant wind direction from the northwest to the southeast.
• Air pollution crosses national boundaries and gets trapped in large "airsheds" shaped by climatology and geography.
• The report emphasizes the need for a coordinated approach to reduce air pollution levels in the same airshed.
• It also recommends that countries in the region work together to fight air pollution to get better, faster, and cheaper results.