THE rapid growth of some 230 cities in Asia, including those in the Philippines associated with the expansion of industry and transport systems, has significantly contributed to severe air pollution causing several millions of premature deaths and respiratory illnesses.

A Clean Air Scorecard survey presented during the Better Air Quality (BAQ) Conference in Singapore showed at least 60 percent of the 230 surveyed Asian cities had pollution levels that failed to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, which recommend a maximum acceptable particulate matter level of 20 micrograms per cubic meter.  

“Air pollution is an increasing concern of Asian countries and the governments need to address quickly the environmental and health impacts of poor air quality whether it’s indoor, outdoor, or transboundary,” said Sophie Punte, executive director of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) at the opening of the BAQ 2010 Conference.

The Clean Air Scorecard is a practical assessment tool for cities to identify their strengths and potential improvement areas in addressing air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions. It is composed of three indexes: air pollution and health, clean air management capacity, and policies and action.

“Rather than judging and ranking cities based on air pollution alone, it is also important to look at the existing capacity, policies and measures as these are better indicators for their future levels of air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions,” she adds.

Robert O’Keefe, chairman of the CAI-Asia Center, said while climate change is increasingly on the agenda of governments, air pollution and its health impacts is still a serious challenge in many Asian cities.

In a study released at the meeting, O’Keefe pointed out that between 55 percent and 77 percent of people living in largely populated cities of Delhi in India and Beijing in China are highly exposed to traffic-related air pollution causing respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.

“Although many Asian countries have implemented more stringent emission controls and made steady progress in reducing the emissions from motor vehicles and improving air quality, the rapid growth of the motor-vehicle fleet and the increasing dependence on motor vehicles may offset some of the benefits of pollution control regulations and technologies,” added O’Keefe, who is also the vice president of the US-based Health Effects Institute (HEI).

Air quality in Asian cities is often influenced by other major sources of exposure such as waste burning, stationary sources, household solid fuel for cooking and heating, multiple small-scale industries, and naturally occurring events such as dusts and fires, he added.

In many Asian cities, the key challenge is on how governments improve their management of air pollution that comes with national policy actions, resource mobilization, as well as improving health of the people, said CAI-Asia Partnership Council chairman Elisea Gozun.

“Rapid urbanization and industrialization” contribute more to poor air quality, she said, and added, “but we can have a city that is livable. The biggest challenge for all sectors is how to transform to low-carbon economies.”

The three-day BAQ 2010 attended by more than 500 government officials, environmental experts, researchers and individuals from nongovernment organizations is organized by CAI-Asia in partnership with the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Singapore’s National Environment Agency and the Land Transport Authority.