Pollution has reduced the life expectancy in India by more than four years, according to a study by The University of Chicago. However, the effect of pollution on the citizens of Delhi is much higher as their life expectancy is lowered by ten years. In comparison, pollution adversely impacts the global life expectancy by 1.8 years.
The study pointed out that over the past two decades, the concentration of fine particulates increased by 69 per cent on an average across India, reducing the life expectancy of a typical Indian citizen by 4.3 years compared to 2.2 years in 1998.
The results of the study are substantiated by the fact that there has been a drastic dip in the air quality levels in the national capital, and according to reports, the air quality in 2016 was the ‘most deadly’.
According to the study, the national capital region is the second most polluted area among 50 other cities. After Nepal, India is the second most polluted country in the world and based on the report.
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The global particulate pollution lowers the average life expectancy by about 1 and half years which is the biggest threat to human life on earth. The report was produced by the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago.
The study also suggests, ’75 percent of the total world population live in areas where particulate pollution exceeds the WHO guideline.’ According to the Air Quality Life Index, India and China comprise 36 percent of the world population and account for 73 percent of all years of life lost due to particulate pollution. On average, people in India would live 4.3 years longer if their country met the WHO guideline—expanding the average life expectancy at birth there from 69 years to 73 years.”
The most common factors that contribute to the rising levels of pollution include cigarette smoke, alcohol, drugs, unsafe sanitation and water, life-threatening diseases like AIDS or HIV, terrorism, and conflict.
Greenstone, the co-author of the Air Quality Life Index said, “While people can stop smoking and take steps to protect themselves from diseases, there is little they can individually do to protect themselves from the air they breathe.”
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