[ad_1]
In India, the effect of pollution on life expectancy is worse than that of HIV / AIDS, smoking and even terrorism, according to a study that Indians would live 4.3 years longer if country complied with WHO guidelines. [19659002] According to the new Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), developed by researchers at the University of Chicago in the United States, particulate air pollution reduced by 1.8 years the expectation average life per person.
AQLI reveals that India and China, which account for 36% of the world's population, account for 73% of all years of life lost due to particulate pollution.
In India, the population would live an average of 4.3 years more if the country adhered to the WHO guideline – to increase the average life expectancy at birth from 69 to 73 years
According to AQLI, particulate pollution is the biggest threat to human health in the world, its impact on life expectancy exceeding that of devastating communicable species. diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV / AIDS, destructive behaviors such as smoking and even war.
AQLI reports these results in concrete terms that are comparable to those of most people.
"People around the world are breathing in air that poses a serious health risk, but the way in which this risk is communicated is very often opaque and confusing, reflecting the concentrations of air pollution in the air. colors, such as red, brown, orange and green, "said Michael Greenstone, professor at the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago (EPIC).
"My colleagues and I have developed the AQLI, where the" L "stands for" life ", to remedy these shortcomings.He takes airborne particle concentrations and possibly converts them to be one of the most important indicators: life expectancy, "he said.
The AQLI is based on two studies that quantify the causal link between long-term human exposure to particles pollution and life expectancy
Seventy-five per cent of the world's population, or 5.5 billion people, live in areas where particulate pollution exceeds WHO standards.
In the United States, about a third of the population lives in areas that are not. People living in the most polluted counties in the country could expect to live up to a year longer if the pollution was in accordance with WHO guidelines.
On a global scale, l 39; AQLI reveals that particulate pollution reduces the average life expectancy of 1.8 years, making it the world's biggest threat to human health
In comparison, cigarette smoke first-hand leads to a reduction in overall average life expectancy of about 1.6 years. The effects on human health are even less important: alcohol and drugs reduce the life expectancy by 11 months; unsafe water and sanitation take off 7 months; and HIV / AIDS, 4 months.
Conflicts and terrorism take 22 days. Thus, the impact of particle pollution on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, twice as much as that of alcohol and drugs, three times that of smoking. unsafe water, five times that of HIV / AIDS and more than 25 times that of conflict and terrorism. .
"Although people can stop smoking and take steps to protect themselves from disease, they can not do anything individually to protect themselves from the air they breathe," Greenstone said.
"AQLI explains to citizens and decision-makers how particle pollution affects them and their communities, and reveals the benefits of policies to reduce particulate pollution," he said.
Source link
