Study finds Indians lose more than four years of life due to air pollution

Indians would live an average of 4.3 more years if the country complies with global guidelines for particulate pollution, according to a study that found that the effect of pollution on life expectancy is worse than HIV / AIDS, smoking and even terrorism. According to the new Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), developed by researchers at the University of Chicago in the United States, airborne particle pollution can reduce air pollution. average life expectancy of 1.8 years per person.

AQLI makes particle pollution the biggest threat to human health in the world, with life expectancy effects exceeding that of devastating communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV / AIDS, behavioral killers like cigarettes and even war.

Critically, the AQLI reports these results in concrete terms that are comparable to those of most people.

"People around the world breathe in air that poses a serious risk to their health. But the way in which this risk is communicated is very often opaque and confusing, reflecting the concentrations of air pollution in colors such as red, brown, orange and green, "said Michael Greenstone, professor at the Energy Policy Institute of the University of Chicago (EPIC).

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"My colleagues and I have developed the AQLI, where the" L "stands for" life, "to address these shortcomings. It takes airborne particle concentrations and perhaps converts them into one of the most important indicators: life expectancy, "he said.

The AQLI is based on a pair of studies that quantify the causal link between long-term human exposure to particle pollution and life expectancy.

Seventy-five percent of the world's population, or 5.5 billion people, live in areas where particle pollution exceeds WHO standards.

AQLI reveals that India and China, which account for 36% of the world's population, account for 73% of the years of life lost due to particle pollution.

In India, people would live an average of 4.3 years more if the country complied with the WHO guideline – extending the average life expectancy at birth from 69 to 73 years.

In the United States, about one-third of the population lives in areas that do not comply with the WHO guideline. Those living in the most polluted counties in the country can expect to live up to a year longer if the pollution complies with WHO guidelines.

On a global scale, the AQLI reveals that particulate pollution reduces the average life expectancy by 1.8 years, making it the biggest global threat to human health.

In comparison, first-hand cigarette smoke causes a reduction in the global average life expectancy of about 1.6 years. Other risks to human health have even less important effects: 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 informs citizens and policy makers about particle pollution that affects them, as well as their communities, and reveals the benefits of policies to reduce particulate pollution," he said. declared.