The El Niño weather phenomenon, smouldering peatlands, coal power and vehicular pollution caused a big drop in air quality in Southeast Asia in 2023. In Indonesia, Southeast Asia's most polluted country, air quality fell by 20 per cent.
A health security index by the Asian Development Bank found that early investment in health infrastructure limited the impacts of Covid-19. Thailand topped the ranking. Vietnam did not score well, but prevented the highest number of cases.
As floating photovoltaic systems emerge as a bright spot in the Philippines' renewable energy quest, how can the archipelago push expansion while minding the technology's potential environmental and social impacts?