Air pollution in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills (IGP-HF) of South Asia continues to pose significant health and economic challenges, according to a new report released by the World Bank. The region, which includes parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, is home to nearly one billion people who are exposed to unhealthy air. Each year, around one million premature deaths are attributed to air pollution in this area. Economic losses due to pollution are estimated at close to 10 percent of the region’s gross domestic product annually.
The report titled "A Breath of Change: Solutions for Cleaner Air in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills" outlines practical actions that could significantly reduce pollution if implemented across various sectors and jurisdictions. Major sources of air pollution identified include households burning solid fuels for cooking and heating, inefficient industrial processes using fossil fuels and biomass without proper filters, vehicles with internal combustion engines, crop residue burning by farmers, poor fertilizer management practices, and open waste burning.
To address these issues, the report recommends several scalable solutions such as adopting electric cooking methods; modernizing industrial boilers and kilns; promoting non-motorized and electric transport; improving management of crop residues and livestock waste; as well as enhancing waste segregation, recycling, and disposal systems.
Clean-air strategies proposed in the report fall into three main categories: abatement measures that target emissions at their source across key sectors; protection initiatives aimed at strengthening health and education systems for vulnerable populations during the transition period; and institutional reforms supported by regulatory frameworks, market mechanisms, and regional cooperation.
“This report shows that solutions are within reach and offers a practical roadmap for policy and decision makers to implement coordinated, feasible, and evidence-based solutions at scale. There are strong financial and economic rationales for South Asian enterprises, households, and farmers to adopt cleaner technologies and practices, and for governments to support them,” said Martin Heger, Senior Environmental Economist at the World Bank.
The document also emphasizes what it calls “the Four I’s”: information (providing reliable data), incentives (encouraging shifts toward cleaner options), institutions (coordinating action across levels), and infrastructure (enabling clean energy systems).
“Achieving cleaner air will require continued collaboration, sustained financing, and strong implementation at local, national and regional levels. By acting together governments can follow this pathway to cut pollution save millions of lives and deliver cleaner air for all,” said Ann Jeannette Glauber World Bank Practice Manager for Environment South Asia.