1 out of every 8 deaths in India can be attributable to air pollution, a large-scale study conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Union Health Ministry has stated. In 2017, 12.4 lakh persons died due to air pollution, which were up to 12.5 per cent of total deaths in India.
The study – 'The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden and life expectancy across the states of India,' comprises 76 authors from institutes of repute across the country who collaborated for three years to produce the evidence that air pollution kills. It has been published in The Lancet.
Earlier, it was perceived that air pollution cuts down four years from a person's life. Now, more reliable estimates published in the latest study have said that average life expectancy of an Indian is reduced by 1.7 years and that an Indian could live more if the air pollution were less. An average Indian lives for 69 years.
While 6.7 lakh people are estimated to die of ambient (outdoor) air pollution, 4.8 lakh people die of indoor air pollution using solid fuels for cooking. In 2017, over 75 per cent of population used solid fuels in states like Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha.
Air pollution causes Lower respiratory infections, Chronic pulmonary obstructive disorder, Ischemic heart disease, Stroke, Diabetes, Lung Cancer and Cataract.
Up to 369 ground-level monitoring stations and satellite-based aerosol optical depth data have been calibrated to measure outdoor air pollution. “There were many rural areas where ground level monitoring stations did not exist. We had to take satellite data and then calibrate it accordingly to arrive at estimates,” said Lalit Dandona, Professor, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
Of all states, Uttar Pradesh is the worst with an estimation of 2.6 lakh persons succumbing to air pollution, of which up to 78,888 die due to house hold air pollution.
Going further ICMR is involved in studies to understand whether levels of particulate matter 2.5 which wreaks the most havoc in lungs and blood stream, can be assayed in the blood, said ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava. “PM 2.5 are minute particles which are known to enter alveoli in the lungs and from thereon in blood stream, causing inflammations and deposition of plaque leading to stroke. We have yet not understand how to test PM 2.5 levels in the blood,” said Bhargava.