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According to US researchers, air pollution, caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels, reduces life expectancy globally by 1.8 years on average per person, making it the leading cause of death in the world.
They claim that the tiny particles ingested by polluted air shorten life longer than cigarette smoke, which can reduce it by 1.6 years and is more dangerous than other public health threats. such as war and HIV / AIDS.
The University of Chicago's Air Life Life Index shows that people in some parts of India, the world's second-largest country in the world, could live eleven years because of high air pollution.
Life expectancy is on average slightly lower at 69 in the South Asian nation, at 1.3 billion euros, according to the World Bank.
The researchers launched a website that tells users how many years of air pollution could cost them depending on the region of the country where they live.
The index seeks to turn hard-to-understand data into "perhaps one of the most important indicators of life," said Michael Greenstone, director of the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute (EPIC). in a statement.
"The fact that this AQLI tool quantifies the number of years since air pollution makes me worried," said Kalikesh Singh Deo, Indian MP, in a statement shared by EPIC.
China and Indonesia are also among the countries where microscopic particles floating in the air hit the inhabitants hardest, reducing their life expectancy by seven and five and a half years, respectively, the site said.
Other studies have previously focused on the number of people likely to die prematurely because of air pollution.
EPIC scientists hope however that this website – the first of its kind, according to the institute – will make the consequences of dirty energy policies more tangible and will encourage reforms aimed at improving the quality of the air.
Only a handful of the 100 most polluted Indian cities have developed air pollution control plans, although they have been asked to do so three years ago, a report from the International Air Pollution Commission said. World Health Organization early in the year.
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