Global pollution saw a slight decline in 2022. However, India’s pollution levels remain perilously high, casting a shadow over millions of lives. 

In 2022, South Asians, including Indians, were able to breathe slightly cleaner air compared to the suffocating levels of the past decade, according to the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC)’s annual Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report. However, the date from India remains grim. 

Bangladesh holds the unenviable title of the most polluted country overall.India faced the heaviest health burden from polluted air, simply due to the sheer number of people exposed to it. 

Despite a 19.3 percent drop in particulate levels in 2022 compared to 2021, the average Indian’s life expectancy is still expected to shrink by 3.4 years if these pollution levels persist, the report reveals. 

North India, home to over half a billion people and nearly 40 percent of the country’s population, is the most polluted region in India. Even though particulate levels in this region were 17.2 percent lower in 2022 than the year before, the average resident here is still on course to lose about 5.4 years of life. 

This stark reality highlights the urgent need for stronger and more effective mitigation efforts. For over a decade, India’s air has been thick with particulate pollution, averaging around 49 µg/m³—more than nine times the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline of 5 µg/m³. The air cleared somewhat in 2022, dropping to 41.4 µg/m³. 

If this trend continues, the average Indian could gain an additional 9 months of life. However, if India could bring its air quality in line with WHO guidelines, citizens could gain 3.6 years of life expectancy. But despite these improvements, the air remains unsafe for all of India’s 1.4 billion people, who live in areas where annual pollution levels exceed WHO guidelines. 

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Furthermore, 42.6% of Indians live in regions where pollution levels surpass even the country’s own national air quality standard of 40 µg/m³. In Delhi, where the air is especially toxic, residents stand to gain up to 7.8 years of life if pollution is reduced to safe levels. 

The problem extends beyond the Northern Plains, finds the report. States like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan are also suffocating under the weight of polluted skies.

The 292.3 million people living in these states are losing an average of 2.9 years of life expectancy due to the poisonous air they breathe every day. Yet,there are glimmers of hope. In 2022, the districts of Purulia and Bankura in West Bengal, and Dhanbad in Jharkhand, experienced the most significant declines in particulate pollution, with levels dropping by more than 20 µg/m³. 

These reductions, if sustained, could mean a breath of fresh air—quite literally—for the residents of these areas, potentially extending their lives. 

Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the Indian government launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019, aiming to reduce particulate pollution by 20 to 30 percent from 2017 levels by 2024. In 2022, the target was revised to a 40 percent reduction by 2026 in 131 non-attainment cities. 

If this ambitious goal is met, it could add 2 years to the life expectancy of residents in these cities and increase the national average by 7.8 months. As of 2022, pollution in these districts has already declined by 18.8 percent compared to 2017, adding 10.8 months to the life expectancy of 446.7 million residents and 4 months to India’s national average life expectancy, EPIC report notes.

“Setting ambitious standards is only part of the puzzle,” says Tanushree Ganguly, director of the AQLI. 

“Equally important is implementing policies and monitoring mechanisms that enforce these standards. Some countries are succeeding, proving that air pollution is a solvable problem.”

(*Story courtesy  cnbctv18.com)