While the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayan Foothills airshed, which spans Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, is known to be a major global air pollution hotspot, and a zone of high social need, the links between pollution, health and social outcomes remain relatively underexplored in the region. With filling the gap crucial in order to build the social, moral, and economic case to act on the air crisis, ICIMOD is setting out to collect granular data on pollutants, and to track this against health and socioeconomic data through an HKH air quality dashboard.

In 2024, the centre held a regional meeting on air pollution and social inclusion, and conducted a training course for early-career researchers on air pollution and health research. It also began Bhutan’s first national study on health, social issues and clean energy, whose findings will underpin advocacy for better policies and actions to address air pollution and its health impacts.