More than a dozen lakh people died across the country last year by breathing bad air, which has slashed the life expectancy of the citizens by 1.7 years, says a report published on Thursday in the The Lancet Planetary Health.
The findings, arrived at by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative, a joint initiative of many insittutes including the Indian Medical Council Research, reveal that of the 12.4 lakh deaths in 2017 attributed to air pollution, 6.7 lakh were due to outdoor particulate matter (PM), and 4.8 lakh due to household air pollution.
Over half the deaths reported (51.4 per cent) were of people under 70 years of age. Some 26 per cent of the them were premature.
The report is the first to include comprehensive estimates of death, disease and longevity vis-a-vis air pollution in each state of the country, which is home to 18 per cent of the global population.
"It is important to have robust estimates of the health impact of air pollution in every state to improve the situation," said Professor Balram Bhargava, secretary, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
"The findings systematically document the variations among states, which would serve as a useful guide... There is increasing political momentum to address air pollution."
Last year, 77 per cent of the population was exposed to PM2.5 above 40 μg/m3, the recommended limit by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The nation's mean ambient PM2.5 exposure of 90 μg/m3 in 2017 was one of the highest in the world.
"Initiatives across many sectors are being undertaken in the country to reduce air pollution, including the adoption of renewable energy and cleaner fuels, enhancing public transport options, encouraging intelligent waste management and adoption of recycling environmentally friendly options," said Dr Tushar K Joshi, adviser to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
"These state-specific findings on the health impact of air pollution would help fine tune the air pollution control efforts across the country," he said.