Only eight out of 296 regional cities in Southeast Asia - where data is recorded - met the World Health Organisation’s guideline for PM2.5 last year. PM2.5 are tiny particles that can cause serious health problems.
BANGKOK: Just a tiny fraction of regional cities in Southeast Asia recorded air quality levels in 2022 that meet international health standards, according to a new report from IQAir, a company that tracks air pollution worldwide.
Prolonged exposure to harmful air pollution is known to weaken resistance to respiratory diseases and can heighten the risks of lung cancer and heart disease. Overall air quality, however, improved throughout Southeast Asia last year, with seven of nine countries in the region recording a decrease in PM2.5 concentrations across the year. Only Vietnam and Laos saw air pollution levels worsen.
Only 13 countries or territories experienced healthy levels of PM2.5 in 2022. These include Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Estonia and Iceland.In 2021, the WHO tightened what it considered to be an acceptable level of exposure to PM2.5, cutting it from 10 to five µg/m3. The WHO has stated that 7 million preventable deaths occur each year as a result of air pollution, while countless others have their quality of life impacted.
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