NEW DELHI: Toxic air killed more people in India in 2019 than in 2017, The Lancet said in a report.
India, whose cities top the global pollution charts, faces a rising economic and human cost due to poor air quality, which was linked to 1.24 million, or 12.5% of all deaths in the previous study by 2017.
The analysis found that the pollution led to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory infections, lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, neonatal disorders and cataracts.
Landlocked New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital whose winter skies are often obscured by dirty air, had the biggest per capita economic impact, the magazine said.
The deaths in 2019 caused a total loss of $ 36.8 billion, or 1.36% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), and the poor and populous states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar experienced the largest economic loss as percentage of its GDP.
Although the death rate due to air pollution in homes fell by 64.2% between 1990 and 2019, the rate of particulate pollution in the environment more than doubled, The Lancet said.
“Improvements in air quality across India during the COVID-19 shutdown period, and its resurgence again with the easing of restrictions, provide interesting indications of the degree of air pollution reduction that is possible with reducing human activity, “he added.
The government said in a statement that India would need to invest more in state pollution control programs to meet its goal of becoming a $ 5 trillion economy by 2024, up from $ 2.9 trillion today.
India’s top three cities – New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai – were on the list of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, Swiss air quality technology company IQAir reported Tuesday.
India, whose cities top the global pollution charts, faces a rising economic and human cost due to poor air quality, which was linked to 1.24 million, or 12.5% of all deaths in the previous study by 2017.
The analysis found that the pollution led to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, respiratory infections, lung cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, neonatal disorders and cataracts.
Landlocked New Delhi, the world’s most polluted capital whose winter skies are often obscured by dirty air, had the biggest per capita economic impact, the magazine said.
The deaths in 2019 caused a total loss of $ 36.8 billion, or 1.36% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), and the poor and populous states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar experienced the largest economic loss as percentage of its GDP.
Although the death rate due to air pollution in homes fell by 64.2% between 1990 and 2019, the rate of particulate pollution in the environment more than doubled, The Lancet said.
“Improvements in air quality across India during the COVID-19 shutdown period, and its resurgence again with the easing of restrictions, provide interesting indications of the degree of air pollution reduction that is possible with reducing human activity, “he added.
The government said in a statement that India would need to invest more in state pollution control programs to meet its goal of becoming a $ 5 trillion economy by 2024, up from $ 2.9 trillion today.
India’s top three cities – New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai – were on the list of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, Swiss air quality technology company IQAir reported Tuesday.
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