NEW DELHI: A whopping 1.5 million deaths were reported in India annually from 2009 to 2019 due to long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution every year, said the latest Lancet study.
The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, said that the entire 1.4 billion population of India live in areas having PM2.5 levels higher than World Health Organisation-recommended yearly average of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.
Researchers, including those at Ashoka University and Centre for Chronic Disease Control, also found that nearly 82% of India’s population, or 1.1 billion, lived in areas with yearly average PM2.5 levels exceeding those recommended by the Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standards (40 microns per cubic metre).
“The extremely high levels of air pollution in India contribute to a higher fraction of mortality than previously estimated, with high mortality even at concentrations below the current Indian national air quality standards. This study, and the available evidence from other studies across the world, strongly underpins the need for India to provide appropriate regulation to reduce emissions and protect public health,” it said.
“In India, people living in urban and several rural areas are exposed to high PM2·5 concentrations throughout the year,” the study said.
Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, pollution is caused by particles sized under 2.5 microns in diameter.
A yearly increase in PM2.5 pollution of 10 microns per cubic metre was associated with 8.6 per cent higher annual mortality, the researchers found.
The researchers looked at yearly deaths from 2009 to 2019 at district level across India and obtained annual PM2.5 concentrations, using data from satellites and over a 1,000 ground-monitoring stations. Death data was taken from the Civil Registration System. The team said evidence on long-term exposure to pollution and deaths in India is inconsistent with studies from other countries.