Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in the Asian region tripled between 1980 and 2003, according to a report released on October 10, 2007, by the National Institute of Environmental Studies, the Japan Agency for Earth-Marine Science and Technology, Kyushu University, and the Research Institute for Human and Nature.

Focusing on 24 countries to the east of Afghanistan, the group calculated emissions of six types of air pollutant and greenhouse gases caused by human activities based on point of release, fuel and region. A variety of data were used for this calculation: statistical data such as fuel use, industrial production, quantity of motor vehicles and population, as well as data on emission coefficients and emission regulation trends.

Fuel consumption region-wide increased 2.3-fold between 1980 and 2003. Accordingly, NOx emissions increased 2.8-fold overall, with China showing a 4-fold increase. Furthermore, prospective emissions were projected to increase until around 2020.

Currently, large amounts of various air pollutants have been emitted due to the use of coal at power plants and factories and the use of oil as a fuel for vehicles in during Asia’s economic rise. In recent years, concentrations of photochemical oxidants have been increasing in Japan and the impact of ozone trans-boundary pollution from the Asian continent is thought to be one of the causes.