Air pollution killed 1.2 million people in India in 2017: Global study 

Schoolchildren wearing masks while riding a rickshaw in Delhi.

New Delhi: Air pollution is the third-highest cause of death in India among all health risks, claimed a global study, which was released on Wednesday. The study has revealed that bad air quality alone has contributed to over 1.2 million deaths in India in 2017.

A global study, State of Global Air 2019, published by Health Effects Institute (HEI), has reported that air pollution has caused more deaths worldwide than other health risks including malnutrition, alcohol abuse and diabetes. According to the study, the life expectancy has been reduced by an average of 20 months in 2017 worldwide because of air pollution. Around 3.6 billion people, that counts nearly half of the world’s population, were exposed to household air pollution in 2017, the report claimed.

The study conducted on India and China has revealed that both the countries together are responsible for over half of the total global attributable deaths. Out of 3 million deaths caused by the air pollution, half of which were occurred in India and China. 60 per cent of the population in India still uses solid fuels that contribute to sever air pollution, the report said.

The vice-president of Health Effects Institute, Robert O’Keefe, has lauded the major initiatives taken by India to curb the rising air pollution, including the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana household LPG program and the new National Clean Air Programme.

O’Keefe said these and future initiatives have the potential, if fully implemented as part of a sustained commitment to air quality, to result in significant health benefits in coming years.

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