Over the past two decades, particulate pollution (PM2.5) levels have remained fairly constant for most of the world. However, since 2013, air pollution’s course has been made up of two competing regional trends. China has had staggering success in combating pollution since declaring a “war on pollution” in 2014, reducing its pollution by 39 percent from 2013 to 2021—a drop that pushed average global pollution into a decline. Meanwhile, the South Asian countries of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan saw their pollution increase by almost 10 percent from 2013 to 2021.
That trend changed in 2022. Global particulate pollution was 14 percent lower than average pollution levels over the last decade due to cleaner air across the Asian continent. While China continued to reduce its pollution, a large portion of the decline in global pollution came primarily as a result of a significant trend reversal in South Asia. The region experienced an 18 percent decline in pollution in 2022 relative to 2021. If this reduction is sustained, an average South Asian could live 0.9 years longer compared to 2021 levels. However, it’s difficult to determine if this reduction will be sustained as favorable meteorological conditions likely contributed to the change.
Despite the decline in South Asia’s pollution in 2022, the region continues to be the most polluted in the world—accounting for 45 percent of the global life expectancy losses. The South Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal are among the 10 most polluted countries in the world. An average resident of these countries could live 3.6 years longer if pollution were lowered to meet the WHO guideline.