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Asia: Changing times and changing problems

Asia is currently experiencing rapid increases in industrialization, urbanization, and vehicularization. As a result, emission trends (e.g., energy, fuel, vehicle use), population trends (e.g., degree of urbanization, urban population growth, city size), health trends (e.g., age structure, background disease rates), and other important factors (e.g., broad changes in regulatory approaches, improvements in control technology) will influence the extent to which exposure to air pollution affects the health of the Asian population over the next several decades. Because the effects on air quality of recent, rapid development are clearly apparent in many of Asia's cities and industrial areas, government decision makers, the private sector, and other local stakeholders are increasingly raising concerns about the health impacts of urban air pollution. Major Asian cities, such as Shanghai (China), Delhi (India), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), and Manila (Philippines), now experience annual average levels of respirable particles [particulate matter ? 10

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