UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- As 600,000 people die each year from air pollution, a report backed by the United Nations says Asian cities must improve their air quality.
Issued Wednesday, the Urban Air Pollution in Asia Cities study said "pollution remains a threat to health and quality of life" in some cities while it improves in others.
Despite achieving reductions in emissions, a primary source of concern is the increasing number of vehicles in Asia's big cities.
The study was conducted as a joint effort by the Stockholm Environment Institute, the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities, the Korea Environment Institute and the U.N. Environment Program.
The 22-city report was released just before the first meeting on urban air quality in the Indonesian province of Yogyakarta.
"Asia's growth in population, urbanization, motorization and energy consumption remain major challenges," the study said.
Lead author of the study, Dieter Schwela, said other Asian cities could stand to learn from Hong Kong and Tokyo, two cities further along than most in efforts to attain a higher standard of air quality.
"One of its key findings," the study said, "is that concentrations of the fine particulate matter PM10, one of the main threats to health and life is, 'serious' in Beijing, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Shanghai."
