NEW DELHI: Air pollution is reducing the average life expectancy in India by 3.5 years, nearly twice the impact of childhood and maternal malnutrition and more than five times that of unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing, according to a study by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).
The study said child and maternal malnutrition leads to a loss of 1.6 years, tobacco use 1.5 years, and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing about 8.4 months of average life expectancy. Data from the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) show that northern India remains the most polluted region in the world, with 544.4 million people, or 38.9% of India’s population, living under severe pollution conditions. The analysis is based on data from 2023, compared to the previous year.
According to the AQLI data of Indian states and Union territories, residents of Delhi-NCR lose 8.2 years of life expectancy due to PM2.5 pollution compared with the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³. Bihar (5.6 years), Haryana (5.3 years), and Uttar Pradesh (5 years) follow.However, while comparing with PM2.5 from 2023 concentration to the National PM2.5 standard of 40 µg/m³, Delhi-NCR residents lose 4.74 years of life expectancy, followed by Bihar (1.97 years), Haryana (1.83 years), and Uttar Pradesh (1.59 years).
About 46% of the population lives in areas that exceed the national annual PM2.5 standard. “Reducing particulate concentrations in these regions to meet India’s national standard could add 1.5 years to the life expectancy of people living in these regions,” the analysis stated.
All of India’s 1.4 billion people live in areas where annual particulate levels exceed the WHO guideline. Even in the cleanest regions, life expectancy could rise by 9.4 months if pollution were reduced to that level. The study reported that pollution in South Asia increased by 2.8% in 2023, following a slight dip in 2022.
The region remains the most polluted in the world, reducing life expectancy by an average of 3 years, and by more than 8 years in the worst-affected areas.
Breathless in capital
Air pollution beats child malnutrition in reducing average life expectancy
Northern India, with 544 million people, faces the worst air pollution globally
Delhi-NCR loses 8.2 years of life expectancy due to PM2.5, followed by Bihar (5.6 years) and Haryana (5.3 years)
Delhi-NCR loses 4.74 years compared to India's 40 µg/m³ PM2.5 standard
Reducing pollution to meet national standards could add 1.5 years to life expectancy in high-pollution areas