Essay On Asian Air Pollution

In recent years, Asian air population has been considered a threat to health and the environment. According to research, World Health Organizations reported that Asian air pollution, “is responsible for an estimated 537,000 premature deaths annually with indoor air pollution being responsible for over double this number of deaths” (Schwela). These statistics have raised concern for civilians and surrounding countries as they look at the damage to society the pollution causes. On June 21, 2013, South East Asia experienced an immense amount of air pollution. This event was named the Haze Crisis, where it reached a record of 401, being the largest amount of hazardous pollution ever recorded (Ho et al.). The levels reached during this crisis called for civilians to stay inside where they were advised to wear masks both indoors and outdoors. There is a growing need for intervention as researchers look to identify the most effective measures to protect human health and the environment. To identify the most effective measures, scientists look at the causation of the pollution. Although there is no direct single cause for the air pollution, all factors combined contribute to this issue. Asian air pollution threatens the environment and public health; it is a direct result of industrial pollution, biomass pollution, and forest fire pollution.

As cities undergo industrial development, the environmental pollution increases. Industrial development in the past century has been powered largely by fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas (Henderson). Industrial pollution is a global problem, but Asian Pacific regions experience it the most where fossil fuel consumption has risen by a factor of 20 in the past half-century (Henderson). As...

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...ts associated with haze include[ing] increased emergency room attendance for respiratory tract symptoms [3,4], reduction in human productivity as a result of sick leave due to doubling of the number of asthma cases, inefficiency in manufacturing and outdoor construction, increasingly hazardous aviation and reduction in tourism” (Ho et al.).

Evidentially, the air pollution problem in Asia is a serious and life threatening issue. With the current statistics if the problem is not addressed soon, one can only expect a rise in the over half a million premature deaths. According to the information, it is not one initial cause of pollution but rather a collaboration of industrial, biomass, and forest fire pollution. In order for there to be environmental success, each individual cause must be addressed, and a plan must be set to improve Asian conditions over time.