According to a new report, the air pollution in India has geographically grown over time and has reached such a level that in states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, an average person could additionally lose 2.5 to 2.9 years of life expectancy, stated an account by the PTI.
University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report, highlighted that the foremost polluted country in the world is India. Over 480 million people or nearly 40% of the country’s population resides in the Indo-Gangetic plains up north where frequently the pollution levels are higher than that elsewhere on the globe by an order of magnitude.
The educational establishment’s Energy Policy Institute’s study determines the duration of a person’s life on the clean air they breathe.
Those living in the north of India, are on their way to losing over nine years of life expectancy if the level of pollution of 2019 continues, with the region undergoing the most extreme level of air pollution, globally, highlighted the report.
The report also said that India’s average particulate matter concentration was 70.3 microgram per cubic metre (μg/m3), in 2019 which was not only the highest globally but seven times the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) guideline of 10 μg/m3.
The country’s level of air pollution has worryingly risen geographically through time. The report said, “Compared to a couple of decades ago, particulate pollution is no longer a feature of the Indo-Gangetic plains alone. Pollution has increased so much in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. For example, the average person in those states is now losing an additional 2.5 to 2.9 years of life expectancy, relative to early 2000.”
The report also elucidated that in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, the AQLI data shows that an average person could live longer for 5.6 years if pollution were reduced and levels meet the WHO guidelines.
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