State of air pollution and potential mitigation mechanisms for the greater Punjab region

This paper summarises the regional workshop on Two Punjabs One Atmosphere, organized by ICIMOD in collaboration with the U.S.Discussions. Over the four-day workshop highlighted that any effective response to dealing with air pollution must be regional and transboundary in nature. The overwhelming consensus was that the region must collectively develop a standard on pollutants and act on air pollution at the regional level, and ensure that science is an important component of foreign relations and foreign policies of all respective countries. Similarly, regional collaboration and transparency in terms of data and demonstration of effective solutions are going to be important for quick uptake and scaling of solutions. At the same time, addressing regional air pollution would also require addressing other regional issues like energy security, energy conservation, and energy efficiency.

Early Online Release: This preliminary version has been accepted for publication in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, may be fully cited, and has been assigned  DOI 10.1175/BAMS-D-22-0132.1 The final typeset copyedited article will replace the EOR at the above DOI when it is published.