Air pollution shortens Indian life expectancy by nearly 6 years: Study

Delhi usually grapples with severe air pollution

The average Indian life expectancy is shortened by 5.9 years due to air pollution, compared to what it would be if the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines were met, a global study released on September 1 said.

Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are the worst-affected states, the report said. Residents of the national capital lose 9.7 years of their lives due to pollution while those in Uttar Pradesh lose 9.5 years, according to findings in the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report, a tool developed by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago (EPIC).

For people of Bihar, the air pollution has reduced average Indian life expectancy by 8.8 years, 8.4 years for Haryana and 7.3 years for Jharkhand, the study says.

The 510 million residents of northern India - 40% of country's population- are on track to lose 8.5 years of life expectancy on average, if pollution levels of 2019 persist says the report suggesting that India’s air pollution levels have expanded geographically compared to a couple of decades ago when it used to be a feature of the Indo-Gangetic plains alone.

“During a truly unprecedented year where some people accustomed to breathing dirty air experienced clean air, and others accustomed to clean air saw their air dirty, it became acutely apparent the important role policy has played and could play in reducing fossil fuels that contribute both to local air pollution and climate change,” Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and creator of the AQLI along with colleagues at EPIC, said in a statement.

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Since 1998, the average annual particulate pollution in India has increased 15 percent and nearly 40 percent of the country's population is exposed to pollution levels not seen in any other country, the report says.

“In 2019, India’s average particulate matter concentration was 70.3 µg/m³ -the highest in the world and 7 times the WHO’s guideline of 10 µg/m³,” said the data from AQLI, a pollution index that converts particulate air pollution into its impact on life expectancy.

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“Air pollution shortens average Indian life expectancy by 5.9 years, relative to what it would be if the WHO guideline was met, three years relative to what it would be if pollution were reduced to meet the country’s own national standard. Some areas of India fare much worse than average, with air pollution shortening lives by 9.7 years in Delhi and 9.5 years in Uttar Pradesh, the most polluted states,” it said.

Globally, unless particulate air pollution is reduced to meet the WHO guideline, the average person is set to lose 2.2 years off their lives, according to the report.

"The bad news is that the greatest impacts of air pollution remain concentrated in South Asia. The good news is that governments in this region are recognizing the severity of the problem and are now beginning to respond,” said Ken Lee, the director of the AQLI.

The study says that all of India’s 1.3 billion people live in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the WHO guideline. The annual average PM 2.5 concentration in the cities of Allahabad and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh is 12 times the WHO guideline. Residents of Lucknow stand to lose 11.1 years of life expectancy if these pollution levels persist, it said.

The findings, however, note that in recent years, the people of India are recognizing that air pollution is a problem, and the government is beginning to respond.

“The Government of India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is an important step towards cleaner air and longer lives, as is the establishment of the new Commission for Air Quality Management in the NCR,” Lee said.

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Announced in 2019, the NCAP is aimed at reducing particulate pollution by 20-30 percent relative to 2017 levels by 2024. Though the NCAP’s goals are non-binding, if India does achieve and sustain this reduction, it would lead to remarkable health improvements: a nationwide reduction of 25 percent, the report said.