Northern India is experiencing “air pollution levels 10 times worse than anywhere else in the world,” according to a new report by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). Over the past decade, severe air pollution has spread to western and central Indian states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, where average life expectancy has fallen by between half a year and three years compared to the 2000s.
New data from the EPIC Air Quality Index report shows that people in the capital Delhi could increase their life expectancy by up to 10 years if air pollution levels there were reduced to levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Air pollution levels in New Delhi hit a record high in 2019. - Photo: CNN
Indian cities regularly appear on global pollution charts, with more than 1 million people dying each year due to the effects of persistently poor air quality.
The report further said that India and its neighbours Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan consistently feature in the list of the world's five most polluted countries, while the populations of these four countries account for nearly a quarter of the world's population.
EPIC also noted several new policies by the Government of India to improve the quality of life, including the National Clean Air Programme 2019.
“These changes would have a major impact on life expectancy in India, potentially increasing national life expectancy by nearly two years and three and a half years for Delhi residents alone,” EPIC said.
China is an example of how effective policies can produce “significant reductions in pollution in a short period of time,” according to EPIC. Since 2013, the country’s air pollution levels have dropped by 29%.
