in contrast to the conventional practice of rating cities only on the basis of air pollution, a new study has benchmarked 20 Asian cities on their ability to manage air quality. The report, Urban Air Pollution in Asian Cities, brought out by the Clean Air Initiative for Asian cities and the Sweden-based Stockholm Environment Institute was introduced at a recent conference on better air quality in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Experts say the report can be the basis of measuring future initiatives and progress of cities.

Among the three Indian cities considered for the study, New Delhi figures in the fourth grade, labelled Good ii. Kolkata and Mumbai are ranked lower for their poorer pollution management capacity. Bangkok, Beijing, Colombo, Dhaka, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Kathmandu, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo have also been assessed. The study has classified cities into five classes based on pollution trends and pollution management capacities. The results show wide variations among Asian cities.

The report also notes that though the ability to manage air quality has improved in Asia since the 1990s, air quality in most of the cities examined still exceeds international guidelines for certain pollutants.

Predictably, the developed cities