Indians risk losing 3.4 years of life expectancy due to persistent air pollution, says report

New Delhi: Indians may lose over three years of life expectancy due to persistent air pollution, according to the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report by the University of Chicago.

“Despite a 19.3% drop in particulate levels in 2022 compared to 2021, an average resident in India is likely to lose 3.4 years of life expectancy if pollution levels persist,” said the report by the university's Energy Policy Institute.

“Although Bangladesh is the most polluted country overall, India faces the highest health burden of air pollution on account of the large population that is exposed," said the report.

The most polluted region of India is the northern plains, home to more than half a billion people and almost 40% of the country’s population. Although particulate levels in this area decreased by 17.2% in 2022, the average resident is still projected to lose about 5.4 years of life expectancy if these pollution levels persist. Even with the potential for a 1.2-year increase in life expectancy if current improvements continue, the situation underscores the need for more further mitigation efforts.

Beyond the northern plains, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have the highest burden of pollution in the country. On average, the 292.3 million people living in these states are now losing 2.9 years of life expectancy.

In 2022, South Asia saw an 18% decline in air pollution after two decades of worsening conditions, driven largely by meteorological factors such as above-normal monsoon rainfall linked to La Niña, the report said. 

This weather pattern amplified the impact of slight reductions in emissions from India's residential and transport sectors. Nationwide initiatives like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which promotes clean cooking, and efforts to reduce diesel use in transportation, have contributed to these declines.

“It is difficult to precisely determine what improved South Asia’s air quality in 2022, but favorable meteorological conditions in the form of above normal precipitation and reduced number of thermal inversions in 2022 have been found to have amplified the impact of the small decreases in emission controls from the residential and transport sectors in India,” the report said.

India's National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), launched in 2019, aims to reduce particulate pollution levels by 40% by 2026 in 131 non-attainment cities. Achieving this goal could increase life expectancy by two years in these cities and add 7.8 months to the national average. 

Also Read: India plans stricter quality standards to tackle air pollution

As of 2022, pollution levels in non-attainment cities have dropped by 18.8% since 2017, resulting in an additional 10.8 months of life expectancy for 446.7 million residents and four months for the national average.

In India and Pakistan, the number of vehicles on the road has increased about fourfold since the early 2000s. In Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan combined, electricity generation from fossil fuels tripled from 1998 to 2017. Crop burning, brick kilns, and other industrial activities have also contributed to rising particulate emissions in the region.

Global pollution declined in 2022 due to the trend reversal in South Asia. Despite the decline, the region remains the most polluted in the world, accounting for 45% of total life years lost due to high pollution.

Also Read: We need a standardized framework to track city-level air pollution