It’s no secret that India’s quality of life and lifespan have suffered greatly as a result of the rise in air pollution. India is home to nine of the world’s ten most polluted cities. A recent study from the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) found that air pollution cuts the average lifespan in Delhi by ten years. This analysis also indicates the typical life expectancy in India.
will reduce the result of the Indo-Gangetic plain being the most polluted region in the world and having air quality that does not exceed WHO standards.
India is ranked as the second most polluting nation in the world according to the Energy Policy Institute’s annual study. According to the research, air pollution in Delhi is reducing people’s lifespans by over ten years. Delhi was determined to be the world’s most polluted city. According to the research, particle pollution is the biggest hazard to human health in India, shortening life expectancy by five years when compared to the effects of starvation and smoking. Contrarily, smoking shortens life expectancy, while infant and maternal malnutrition diminishes it by roughly 1.8 years.
According to AQLI, 510 million people—nearly 40% of India’s population—live in the Indo-Gangetic plains and stand to lose an average of 7.6 years of life expectancy if present pollution levels continue. If the new WHO criteria were not followed, life expectancy in India and specifically for those individuals in metropolises will reduce by about 10 years.
According to the EPIC report’s analysis of the data through 2020, 44% of the global increase in pollution has come from India since 2013. It also noted that, despite Covid lockdowns, air pollution increased in south Asia, the world’s most severely affected region, during the first year of the pandemic. The average annual particle pollution (PM2. 5) level in India has grown by more than 61% since 1998.
Analysts believe that almost 80% of deaths in 2019 were related to PM 2. 5 exposure, with over 7 million deaths per year throughout the world being connected to exposure to different pollutants. Inhalable PM 2.5 is regarded as the most dangerous of all traditional air pollutants because it deposits in the lungs by inhaling and leads to major respiratory issues.
The effect of air pollution on average lifespan is similar to that of smoking, and over three times that of alcohol use and unsafe drinking water, six times that of HIV/AIDS, and 89 times that of conflict and terrorism according to AQLI which converts air pollution based on their impact on life expectancy.
According to the EPIC research, all of India’s population now resides in locations where yearly average particle pollution levels are higher than WHO guidelines. According to the report, more than 63% of the population lives in places where the national air quality threshold of 40 ug/m3 is exceeded. If national criteria were followed, Indians would have gained 1. 6 years.
According to the reports, 7.4 billion people worldwide reside in places where PM2.5 levels are higher than the WHO’s standard. This statistic represents 97.3% of the global population.
The greatest threat to human health globally, according to multiple reports, is particulate pollution.
