India ranks 177 out of 180 in Environmental Performance Index 2018

India ranked 177th among 180 countries on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2018, released by Yale and Columbia Universities along with the World Economic Forum on January 24, 2018. The report was released during the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

On the other hand, Switzerland leads the Environmental Performance Index, followed by France, Denmark, Malta and Sweden at top 5 positions.

What led to India's low ranking in Environmental Performance Index 2018?
• India is among the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index, dropping 36 points from 141 in 2016.

• Overall, India (at 177) and Bangladesh (179) come in the bottom of the rankings with Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nepal rounding out the bottom five.

• Moreover, India ranks 178 out of 180 country as far as air quality is concerned. Its overall low ranking was linked to poor performance in the environment health policy and deaths due to air pollution categories.

• Even among the emerging economies, China and India ranked 120 and 177 respectively, reflecting the strain population pressures and rapid economic growth imposed on the environment.

• Deaths attributed to air pollutants have risen over the past decade and are estimated at 1640113 annually in India.

• Despite government action, pollution from solid fuels, coal and crop residue burning, and emissions from motor vehicles continue to severely degrade the air quality for millions of Indians.

• In 2016, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated that diseases related to airborne pollutants contributed to two-thirds of all life-years lost to environmentally related deaths and disabilities.

The 10th Environmental Performance Index report ranks 180 countries on 24 performance indicators across 10 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.

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