Kathmandu-Air pollution in the Indo Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills is inflicting heavy health and economic costs across South Asia.

The Indo Gangetic Plains and Himalayan Foothills cover parts of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Nearly one billion people in the region breathe unsafe air, leading to around one million premature deaths every year. The World Bank estimates economic losses at close to 10 percent of regional GDP.

According to A Breath of Change, a report released by the World Bank, the crisis can be addressed through coordinated and practical actions across sectors and national boundaries. The report says reducing pollution would significantly improve public health while supporting stronger and more sustainable economic growth.

Air pollution in these areas mainly comes from households using solid fuels for cooking and heating, industries burning fossil fuels and biomass inefficiently, rising use of polluting vehicles, open burning of crop residues, poor management of fertilizers and livestock waste, and the burning of household and commercial waste.

The report highlights solutions that are already available and can be scaled up quickly. These include a shift to electric cooking, electrification and modernization of industrial boilers and kilns, expansion of non motorized and electric transport systems, better management of crop residues and livestock waste, and improved waste segregation, recycling, and disposal.

The World Bank groups clean air actions into three core areas. The first focuses on reducing emissions at the source in cooking, industry, transport, agriculture, and waste management. The second emphasizes protection through stronger health and education systems to safeguard children and vulnerable communities during the transition. The third stresses the need for strong institutions supported by regulation, market based instruments, and regional coordination to sustain progress.

To help governments turn solutions into action, the report introduces the Four I’s. These include better information through reliable and accessible data, incentives that encourage households, farmers, and firms to adopt cleaner practices, institutions that coordinate action and ensure compliance, and infrastructure that supports clean energy, transport, waste systems, and efficient industrial operations.

Senior World Bank officials say the economic and financial case for cleaner air is strong.

'This report shows that solutions are within reach and offers a practical roadmap for policy and decision makers to implement coordinated, feasible, and evidence-based solutions at scale. There are strong financial and economic rationales for South Asian enterprises, households, and farmers to adopt cleaner technologies and practices, and for governments to support them,’said Martin Heger, Senior Environmental Economist at the World Bank.

To help countries operationalize solutions, the report emphasizes ‘the “Four I’s’. Information that provides accessible and reliable data for planning and accountability. Incentives that encourage behavioral and investment shift toward cleaner options.

Institutions that coordinate action, ensure compliance, and link national and local implementation. Infrastructure that enables clean energy, transport, and waste systems along with modern and efficient industrial operations.

‘Achieving cleaner air will require continued collaboration, sustained financing, and strong implementation at local, national and regional levels. By acting together, governments can follow this pathway to cut pollution, save millions of lives, and deliver cleaner air for all,’said Ann Jeannette Glauber, World Bank Practice Manager for Environment, South Asia.