‘Air pollution cause of 1 in 8 deaths’-Study says 26% of global premature death and disease burden by air pollution occurs in India
- India, with 18% of the world’s population, has a disproportionately high 26% of the global premature deaths and disease burden due to air pollution.
- Moreover, one in eight deaths in India was attributable to air pollution in India in 2017, making it a leading risk factor for death.
Estimated By
- This is according to the first comprehensive estimates of reduction in life expectancy associated with air pollution in each State, published by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative, a venture of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, along with experts and stakeholders associated with over 100 Indian institutions.
Key findings
- The key findings from the paper include the fact that 12.4 lakh deaths in India in 2017 were due to air pollution, which included 6.7 lakh deaths due to outdoor particulate matter air pollution and 4.8 lakh deaths due to household air pollution.
- Over half of the deaths due to air pollution were in persons less than 70 years of age.
- In 2017, 77% population of India was exposed to ambient particulate matter PM2.5 above the recommended limit by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
- The report states that the highest PM2.5 exposure level was in Delhi, followed by the other north Indian States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana.
Life expectancy
- The average life expectancy in India would have been 1.7 years higher if the air pollution level were less than the minimal level causing health loss
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