UN Rideshare app makes its debut at Asia-Pacific Clean Air Week
16 MAR 2018
A new UN Rideshare mobile application, brainchild of the Bangkok-based UN Office of Information and Communication Technology, will be launched and demonstrated during Clean Air Week, which will take place in Bangkok from 19-23 March. The app is among a number of breakthrough innovations that will be featured during the week, including bicycles from Mobike, pollution sensors from the Clarity Movement, and a virtual reality experience with pollution, including air and plastic pollution. From unenvironment.org
Air pollution keeps Hong Kong in 28th place in expat liveability ranking, while Singapore takes top spot
14 MAR 2018
Mainland cities also fare poorly in survey measuring quality of life for Asian expatriates due to rise in internet censorship and drop in air quality From scmp.com
China ‘winning’ war on smog, helping life expectancy: study
13 MAR 2018
China appears to be “winning” its war on air pollution, making so much progress that life expectancy could rise by more than two years, according to a US university study. From phys.org
Centre’s New Plan to Reduce Air Pollution by 50% in Five Years
In a significant development, the Centre has formulated a comprehensive plan to mitigate air pollution in 100 cities, reports the Times of India. From thebetterindia.com
China Environmental Watchdog Is Getting Stronger
China is creating a stronger environmental watchdog as it aims to cap world-leading carbon dioxide emissions and clear smoggy skies. From bloomberg.com
Big revelation: India incurred $55 bn losses in labour output caused by air pollution in 2013, says government
12 MAR 2018
India, according to a report, incurred over USD 55 billion losses in terms of labour output caused by air pollution in 2013, which is about 0.84 per cent of its GDP, the government today said. From financialexpress.com
Four Years After Declaring War on Pollution, China Is Winning
On March 4, 2014, the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, told almost 3,000 delegates at the National People’s Congress and many more watching live on state television, “We will resolutely declare war against pollution as we declared war against poverty.” From nytimes.com
Centre’s clean air plan goes beyond Delhi, urban India and outdoor pollution
A draft of the National Clean Air Programme that the Union environment ministry will finalise in less than a month broadens the focus from Delhi to 100 non-attainment cities across India and calls for guidelines on indoor air pollution. From hindustantimes.com
Rome bans diesel cars by 2024 to fight air pollution
08 MAR 2018
Rome is banning diesel cars in its city centre by 2024 to protect both public health and thousands of years of heritage from the detrimental effects of air pollution. From breathelife2030.org
Mongolia’s air pollution causes child health crisis
22 FEB 2018
Unless Ulaanbaatar’s air pollution levels rapidly decrease in the coming years, the financial cost of treating diseases in children caused by air pollution will increase by 33 per cent by 2025, costing an additional MNT 4.8 billion per annum to the public health system from 2025, reveals a new report commissioned by the Mongolian National Center for Public Health and UNICEF. From unicef.org
Farmers in Northwestern Bangladesh learn to grow climate friendly rice
15 FEB 2018
Farmers in North Western Bangladesh are changing the way they grow rice, and by doing so are increasing production, saving money, and protecting the climate. From ccacoalition.org
Can free public transport really reduce pollution?
14 FEB 2018
Germany is reportedly mulling plans for fare-free public transport. But to reduce pollution, it might be better off investing in improved services and penalizing car use, expert Oded Cats explains. From dw.com
Youths protest in Kathmandu against increasing air pollution in “Maskmandu” campaign
Nearly 1,000 youths and students took to the streets of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu on Wednesday morning demanding cleaner air and pollution free environment. From xinhuanet.com
Germany eyes free transport to banish air pollution
13 FEB 2018
Germany has surprised neighbours with a radical proposal to reduce road traffic by making public transport free, as Berlin scrambles to meet EU air pollution targets and avoid big fines. From phys.org
China drawing up new “battle plan” for air pollution
China is drawing up a plan to continue the fight against its chronic air pollution problem after its previous five-year plan saw PM2.5 levels in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region plummet by over 25 per cent. From breathelife2030.org
Clean Air Campaign: Inclusion of environmental health in medical curriculum recommended
12 FEB 2018
Increasing the number of stations to monitor ultra-fine pollutant of PM 2.5, inclusion of environmental health in medical curriculum and issuance of advisories on environment and health were recommended during a workshop held here today as part of the Clean Air Campaign. From indiatoday.in
India announces plan to bring down air pollution from crop burning
11 FEB 2018
India’s government has announced new measures to help cut air pollution from the burning of agricultural waste, a major contributor to regular air quality crises in the north of the country. From breathelife2030.org
Breathing Smoke in the City: Air Pollution and Lung Cancer
02 FEB 2018
Outdoor air pollution is an increasingly important risk factor for lung cancer among former and never-smokers. Though the global prevalence of smoking has decreased in recent decades, lung cancer remains the most common cause of cancer death, killing about 1.7 million people each year. From medium.com
Ambient air pollution in relation to diabetes and glucose-homoeostasis markers in China: a cross-sectional study with findings from the 33 Communities Chinese Health Study
01 FEB 2018
Health effects of air pollution on diabetes have been scarcely studied in developing countries. We aimed to explore the associations of long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants with diabetes prevalence and glucose-homoeostasis markers in China. From thelancet.com
China to monitor human health impacts of pollution for first time
31 JAN 2018
Environment ministry paper sets out system for evaluating and responding to national health crisis, a move once seen as inconsistent with growth. From climatechangenews.com
Accelerating the switch to climate-friendly cooling systems in Southeast Asia
29 JAN 2018
The inaugural Asean Cooling Summit convened today for the first time a diverse group of leaders from business, government, civic society and academia to discuss solutions for sustainable cooling in Southeast Asia. From unenvironment.org
Mobike Thailand Launches in Chiang Mai
18 JAN 2018
In 2017, Mobike rode into Bangkok and began operations in Thailand at Kasetsart University. At the start of 2018, Mobike is entering its first overseas city of the year – Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand’s largest city. Chiang Mai is an incredibly popular tourist destination, known for its long history and rich cultural heritage. From mobike.com
The Asia-Pacific low-carbon lifestyles challenge
15 JAN 2018
Do you want to take action to make sustainable lifestyles easier in Asia and the Pacific? Young entrepreneurs, citizens, community leaders, activists, chefs, scientists and students – we invite you to join the Asia-Pacific Low-Carbon Lifestyles Challenge! From unenvironment.org
New study shows clean cooking can lead to increased birth weight in newborns
08 JAN 2018
A new study has found that replacing traditional cookstoves that burn wood and kerosene with clean-burning ethanol cookstoves can have a positive impact on birth outcomes, further evidence of the link between clean cooking and improved health. After controlling for other risk factors, the randomized intervention study, “Pregnancy outcomes and ethanol cook stove intervention: A randomized-controlled trial in Ibadan, Nigeria,” showed that babies born to mothers who cooked with ethanol were born later (39.2 weeks vs 38.2 weeks average gestational age) and heavier (88 grams) than babies born to mothers cooking with either wood or kerosene. From ccacoalition.org
World commits to pollution-free planet at environment summit
06 DEC 2017
The world today committed to a pollution-free planet at the close of the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, with resolutions and pledges promising to improve the lives of billions across the globe by cleaning up our air, land and water. From unenvironment.org
Dia Mirza, UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador: “Our right to life is underlined by our ability to breathe clean air”
At the opening of a high level side event about air pollution at the Third UN Environment Assembly, Dia Mirza, Indian actress and United Nations Environment Goodwill Ambassador, spoke about the impact of air pollution on people in India and the need to find solutions to improve air quality. From ccacoalition.org
Monitoring Air Quality: Zeroing in on the Haze Problem
29 JUN 2017
If someone you trusted told not to go outside because the air was dangerous to breathe, what would you do? From unicefindonesia.blogspot.co.id
Commemorating Smog Day
05 DEC 2017
We have choices about lots of things in life. Breathing isn’t one of them. Wherever we live, no matter how polluted the air, each of us will breathe about 250 million litres of air into our lungs through our lifetime – that’s 10,000 thousand litres every day. From unenvironment.org
Designing Solutions for Indonesia’s Children in the Age of Haze
24 JAN 2017
When Indonesia’s yearly agricultural fires start up each fall, belching acrid haze through Borneo, Sumatra and over borders, the air one breathes becomes a health hazard unto itself: Schools shut down, thousands fall ill, and some will die from respiratory ailments. From unicefindonesia.blogspot.co.id
Bricks Success Story: Nepal Building Back Better
14 DEC 2016
New, better designed brick kilns built after the 2015 earthquakes in Nepal showed a 60% decrease in particulate matter and have reduced coal consumption by 40-50% From ccacoalition.org
Planting Healthy Air: A Natural Solution to Address Pollution and Heat in Cities
31 OCT 2016
Can nature help cities address the twin problems of air that is too dirty or too hot? Based on a new report released by The Nature Conservancy – in collaboration with C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group – the answer appears to be a qualified “yes.” From unenvironment.org
