India Responsible For 59% Of World’s Increase In Pollution Since 2013, Says Study; Know Other Startling Facts

New Delhi:  Hazardous air threatens to shorten lives in India’s more polluted regions and in New Delhi, the world’s most polluted megacity, the average life span is down by more than 10 years, according to the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) in its latest Air Quality Life Index published on Tuesday.

Rising air pollution can cut life expectancy by more than five years per person in South Asia, one of the world’s most polluted regions, according to the report, which flagged the growing burden of hazardous air on health.

The region, which includes the world’s most polluted countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, accounts for more than half of the total life years lost globally to pollution, it said, adding that rapid industrialisation and population growth have contributed to declining air quality in South Asia, where particulate pollution levels are currently more than 50 percent higher than at the start of the century and now overshadow dangers posed by larger health threats.

People in Bangladesh, the world’s most polluted country, stand to lose 6.8 years of life on average per person, compared to 3.6 months in the United States, according to the study, which uses satellite data to calculate the impact of an increase in airborne fine particles on life expectancy.

Reducing global levels of lung-damaging airborne particles, known as PM 2.5, to levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) could raise average life expectancy by 2.3 years, or a combined 17.8 billion life years, the report said.