Deaths from air pollution in Southeast Asia could rise by nearly 10 per cent and cost the region almost US$600 billion by 2050 unless more effective action is taken, a new study has warned.
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The research – published in the journal Environment International earlier this month – modelled the potential rise in premature deaths and associated economic losses across three different climate change scenarios, each defined by levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
Findings revealed the region is expected to lose US$591 billion by 2050 under the high emissions scenario, which is characterised by a warmer and drier climate. Deaths are expected to see the largest increase in this scenario, with a 9.6 per cent rise from 2019.
Steve Yim, director of the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Health at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), told This Week in Asia that the research aimed to encourage discussion between nations in tackling the health and economic impacts of air pollution.
“Climate change is projected to largely reshape the weather system and even bring more extreme weather events in Southeast Asia,” said Yim, who led the study. He added that air pollution was one of the most urgent environmental problems in the region, and posed a significant health burden.
In 2019, there were 1,147,259 premature deaths caused by air pollution in Southeast Asia, costing the region US$432 billion, the study said.