AHMEDABAD: What is the cost of air pollution? No, we are not just talking about damaged lungs or respiratory issues from vehicle emissions or dust from construction sites. Particulate matter (PM) in the air can actually cost society a lot, says a study by experts from across the country helmed by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) which was published in the Lancet: Planetary Health journal on December 21.
The study, ‘Health and Economic impact of air pollution in the states of India: The Global Burden of Disease Study 2019’ found that some 87,811 deaths — or 10 deaths every hour — in 2019 in Gujarat were directly or indirectly attributable to air pollution. The cumulative burden of deaths and health issues in the working population cost the state 1.33% of the GSDP. The researchers calculated it to be $2,860 million or $41.3 per capita, about Rs 3,050 per head.
Prof Lalit Dandona, distinguished research professor at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and one of the lead authors of the study, told TOI that they tried to assess the economic implications of air quality deterioration. “We took into consideration mortality, disability adjusted life years (DALYs) and years of life lost (YLLs) due to premature deaths based on models developed by our team. In terms of the per capita loss, Gujarat is among the top 10 states,” said Prof Dandona, who is also the national chair of population health at the India Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
The study said the GSDP burden on Gujarat (1.33%) is close to the national average (1.36%), even as the state has a much higher per capita burden ($41.3) than the national average ($26.5).
Prof Dileep Mavalankar, director of IIPH-G, said that while we are rattled by Covid-19 due to the high mortality, many more lives are lost every year due to air pollution. “Due to its very slow nature, we don’t realize the long-term implications of our exposure to toxic fumes, dust particles from construction sites, power plants, etc. Multiple studies have revealed that pollution can affect almost every system of our body,” he said.
Do measures such as BS-VI standards, rules for power plants have any impact? Polash Mukerjee, air pollution expert from the Delhi-based Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), said that while emissions per vehicle have reduced, the number of vehicles have increased. “Proper measurement is a major issue. The need of the hour is more air quality monitoring stations in cities like Ahmedabad,” he said.