As of 2025, Guangzhou had the largest metropolitan population in the Asia-Pacific region, with approximately **** million inhabitants. Tokyo had the second-largest metropolitan population of around **** million inhabitants. There were a total of ** megacities with a population of over 10 million inhabitants in the Asia-Pacific region as of 2025.

This data is from an internet survey of 4,500 individuals from the cities of Jakarta, Beijing, and Delhi. The surveys were conducted around early-2019. The survey contains questions on basic socioeconomic characteristics, and their responses to contingent valuation questions on willingness to pay for improved air quality.

The data were collected using online surveys to carry out a contingent valuation for air quality improvements in three Asian megacities facing severe pollution problems – Beijing, Delhi, and Jakarta.

South Korea's capital Seoul had the highest cost of living among megacities in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024, with an index score of ****. Japan's capital Tokyo followed with a cost of living index score of ****. AffordabilityIn terms of housing affordability, Chinese megacity Shanghai had the highest rent index score in 2024. Affordability has become an issue in certain megacities across the Asia-Pacific region, with accommodation proving expensive. Next to Shanghai, Japanese capital Tokyo and South Korean capital Seoul boast some of the highest rent indices in the region. Increased opportunities in megacitiesAs the biggest region in the world, it is not surprising that the Asia-Pacific region is home to 28 megacities as of January 2024, with expectations that this number will dramatically increase by 2030. The growing number of megacities in the Asia-Pacific region can be attributed to raised levels of employment and living conditions. Cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, and Beijing have become economic and industrial hubs. Subsequently, these cities have forged a reputation as being the in-trend places to live among the younger generations. This reputation has also pushed them to become enticing to tourists, with Tokyo displaying increased numbers of tourists throughout recent years, which in turn has created more job opportunities for inhabitants. As well as Tokyo, Shanghai has benefitted from the increased tourism, and has demonstrated an increasing population. A big factor in this population increase could be due to the migration of citizens to the city, seeking better employment possibilities.

In 2022, an estimated average of *** hours in total were lost during rush hour traffic in Bangalore, the highest among the selected Asian megacities. In Osaka, the accumulated time in rush hours per year amounted to around *** hours that year.

Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images were processed by semi-automatic classification on QGIS to extract the water bodies and built-up land information for Jakarta , Metro Manila and Istanbul. OpenStreetMap (OSM) data and local historical road network maps were collected to obtain road networks. DEM images were used to obtain slope (in percentage) and hillshade maps. OpenQuake Engine was used to obtain seismic hazard maps (PGA in g) for 10% and 2% probabilities of exceedance. Please see ReadMe files for re-use of data.

Yearly citation counts for the publication titled "Trends in urbanization and patterns of land use in the Asian mega cities Jakarta, Bangkok, and Metro Manila".

This is the result of classification of Southeast Asia Megacity using Google Earth Engine

Changes in the Grid-Level Average Annual Loss and Probable Maximum Loss from Present to Future in Jakarta, Metro Manila and Istanbul

Japan’s largest city, greater Tokyo, had a staggering ***** million inhabitants in 2023, making it the most populous city across the Asia-Pacific region. India had the second largest city after Japan with a population consisting of approximately ** million inhabitants. Contrastingly, approximately *** thousand inhabitants populated Papua New Guinea's largest city in 2023. A megacity regionNot only did Japan and India have the largest cities throughout the Asia-Pacific region but they were among the three most populated cities worldwide in 2023. Interestingly, over half on the world’s megacities were situated in the Asia-Pacific region. However, being home to more than half of the world’s population, it does not seem surprising that by 2025 it is expected that more than two thirds of the megacities across the globe will be located in the Asia Pacific region. Other megacities are also expected to emerge within the Asia-Pacific region throughout the next decade. There have even been suggestions that Indonesia’s Jakarta and its conurbation will overtake Greater Tokyo in terms of population size by 2030. Increasing populationsIncreased populations in megacities can be down to increased economic activity. As more countries across the Asia-Pacific region have made the transition from agriculture to industry, the population has adjusted accordingly. Thus, more regions have experienced higher shares of urban populations. However, as many cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Seoul have an aging population, this may have an impact on their future population sizes, with these Asian regions estimated to have significant shares of the population being over 65 years old by 2035.

In 2024, Bangladesh's capital Dhaka had a pollution index score of ****, the highest among megacities in the Asia-Pacific region. In contrast, Japan's capital Tokyo had a pollution index score of **** that year. Megacities on course for growth The United Nations defines megacities as cities with over ten million inhabitants. The population living in megacities has doubled in size in the last twenty years and is expected to rise even more until 2035. Today, the Asia-Pacific region is home to the highest number of megacities, with China and India alone accounting for around half of all megacities worldwide. At the same time, only half of the population in Asia is living in cities. This figure is also expected to rise exponentially over the next years, especially with much of the younger population migrating to larger cities. The growth of megacities and their higher population densities bring along several environmental problems. Exposure to pollution in India The most populated cities in APAC are located in Japan, China and India. As seen above, India's capital also falls among the top three most polluted megacities in the region and ranks second among the most polluted capital cities worldwide with an average PM2.5 concentration. As one of the fastest emerging economies in the world, India's rapid urbanization and industrialization have led to high pollution rates in different areas. The volume of emissions from coal-fired power plants has led to electricity and heat accounting for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in India. The country is also among the nations with the highest population share exposed to hazardous concentrations of air pollution worldwide.

As of January 2025, Hangzhou in China had the highest annual metropolitan population growth rate among megacities in the Asia-Pacific region, at about **** percent. In contrast, all three Japanese megacities—Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka—had the lowest annual population growth rates across APAC, with Osaka's population shrinking by ***** percent as of January 2025.

Figure S1: Relationship of Parameters to Transmission Model of TB Epidemic in Karachi. This figure provides a visual perspective on the parameters used in the model and is not designed to be a mathematically complete formulation (as appears in the following sections). Each set of parameters must be multiplied by the size of the preceding box to obtain the corresponding rate of change. Mortality from TB (μsp and μsn) is included in the model but not shown here. Table S1. Model Parameters. Shown are all model parameters used, with corresponding values and references. Figure S2: Distribution of ages (in years) within the TB model. The age distribution was derived through the convolution of all 9 exponentially distributed age classes, the first having a mean of 10 years and the subsequent 8 with a mean of 5 years. Table S2: Fit for high and low incidence scenarios, 2008-2011. Shown are the fitted parameter values for high and low incidence scenarios, respectively. Table S3: Duration of active TB (years) in each model year including self-cure and mortality. These data correspond to the prevalence/incidence ratio for each form of active TB, in each year shown. Table S4: Ranges of rate of detection and treatment used in sensitivity analyses. (PDF)

The data was collected a part of the baseline survey on household socio-economics among the Bengalurian along the rural-urban interface.

In 2025, Tokyo had a rent index score of ****, making it the highest score of the Asia Pacific megacities. Contrastingly, Jakarta had a rent index score of **** in 2025.

List of water sampling stations for secondary water quality data.

In 2023, the congestion level of Bengaluru amounted to ** percent each, meaning that it took ** percent more time to get from one point to another compared to a free flow situation. Comparatively, the congestion level in Sydney and Hong Kong amounted to ** and ** percent respectively during the same year.

As of January 2023, Zhengzhou in China was the most populous non-megacity in the Asia-Pacific region with a population of approximately **** million. That year, there were more than ten Chinese megacities among APAC's most populous cities.

Four environmental dimensions of energy security—climate change, air pollution, water availability and quality, and land-use change—and the environmental impact of 13 energy systems on each are discussed in this paper. Climate change threatens more land, people, and economies in Asia and small Pacific island states than any other part of the planet. Air pollution takes a substantial toll on national health-care expenditures and economies in general. Of the 18 megacities worldwide with severe levels of total suspended particulate matter emissions, 10 are in Asia. Regarding water availability and quality, hydropower, nuclear power, and thermal power account for 10% to 15% of global water consumption, and the volume of water evaporated from reservoirs exceeds the combined freshwater needs of industry and domestic consumption. In the domain of climate change, rising sea levels could contaminate freshwater aquifers possibly reducing potable water supplies by 45%. Changes in land use for fuelwood collection and biofuel production in Southeast Asia have resulted in deforestation at 5 times the global average and 10 times the average for the rest of Asia. Policymakers must begin to incorporate the cost of these negative consequences into energy prices.

Abstract: “Exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution is a significant driver of premature deaths. We estimate the number of cardiovascular and respiratory (CR) premature deaths attributed to long-term exposure to PM2.5 in 33 global megacities based on long-term remotely sensed observations from 2000 to 2019. Our analysis uses high-resolution (0.01 degree) PM2.5 concentration data and cause-specific integrated exposure-response (IER) functions developed for the Global Burden of Disease Project. From 2000 to 2019, PM2.5-related CR death rates per 1000 people increased in 6 of 33 megacities, decreased in 9, and remained constant in 18 megacities. The increase in PM2.5-related CR mortality in 11 megacities located in South and East Asia during the period 2000–2019 can be attributed to the increases in PM2.5 concentrations. All 33 megacities could avoid 30,248 (9 %), 62,989 (20 %), 128,457 (40 %), 198,462 (62 %) and all of the estimated 322,515 CR deaths attributed to PM2.5 pollution in 2019 if they were to attain the World Health Organization's four interim PM2.5 targets (IT-1, IT-2, IT-3, and IT-4) and the new air quality guideline (AQG), respectively. Major improvements in air quality are needed to reduce the number of CR deaths attributed to PM2.5 in South and East Asia, in addition to ny reductions that would likely follow shifts in the population structures of these megacities moving forward.”

Air Quality Sensors along Corridors Market Outlook

According to our latest research, the Global Air Quality Sensors along Corridors market size was valued at $1.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $3.8 billion by 2033, expanding at a robust CAGR of 13.7% during the forecast period of 2025–2033. The primary growth driver for this market is the escalating global focus on environmental monitoring and public health, particularly in urban areas where pollution levels are rising and regulatory scrutiny is intensifying. Governments and private enterprises are increasingly investing in advanced air quality monitoring solutions to ensure compliance, protect public health, and enable smarter urban planning. The integration of these sensors along transportation and building corridors is becoming pivotal in real-time pollution tracking, early warning systems, and data-driven policy making, further fueling market expansion.

Regional Outlook

North America currently holds the largest share of the global Air Quality Sensors along Corridors market, accounting for approximately 35% of total revenue in 2024. This dominance is underpinned by mature technological infrastructure, early adoption of smart city initiatives, and stringent environmental regulations enforced by agencies such as the EPA. The United States, in particular, has implemented comprehensive air quality monitoring programs across urban corridors, transportation networks, and public buildings, which has catalyzed demand for advanced sensor solutions. Additionally, the presence of leading sensor manufacturers and a high level of public awareness regarding air pollution’s health impacts contribute to the region’s strong market position. The established ecosystem for research, development, and deployment of IoT-enabled air quality sensors further cements North America’s leadership in this sector.

The Asia Pacific region is projected to be the fastest-growing market, with an estimated CAGR exceeding 16% from 2025 to 2033. This rapid growth is driven by massive urbanization, increasing industrial activity, and growing government investments in smart infrastructure across countries such as China, India, Japan, and South Korea. Air pollution has emerged as a critical public health issue in many Asian megacities, prompting authorities to deploy large-scale air quality monitoring networks along transportation corridors and in densely populated districts. The proliferation of smart city projects and the adoption of wireless sensor technology have accelerated market penetration in the region. Furthermore, international collaborations and funding from multilateral organizations are supporting capacity building and technology transfer, which are expected to sustain the region’s high growth trajectory.

Emerging economies in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa are witnessing a gradual increase in the adoption of air quality sensors along corridors, albeit from a lower base. The primary challenges in these markets include limited infrastructure, budget constraints, and inconsistent regulatory enforcement. However, localized demand is rising in urban centers facing acute air pollution crises, particularly in cities such as São Paulo, Mexico City, and Cairo. Policy reforms and international aid are enabling pilot deployments in public transportation corridors and industrial zones. As awareness grows and costs decline, these regions are expected to experience steady market uptake, although progress may remain uneven due to economic volatility and infrastructural disparities.

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