Air pollution cuts lifespans in South Asia by 5 years or more: study
- Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan account for more than half of the world’s years lost to pollution, according to an Energy Policy Institute study
- People in Bangladesh risk losing 6.8 years of life per person on average due to pollution, while the average lifespan in New Delhi is down 10 years
Rapid industrialisation and population growth have contributed to declining air quality in South Asia, where particulate pollution levels are currently more than 50 per cent higher than at the start of the century and now overshadow dangers posed by larger health threats.
India is responsible for about 59 per cent of the world’s increase in pollution since 2013, the report said, as hazardous air threatens to shorten lives further in some of the country’s more polluted regions. In the densely populated New Delhi, the world’s most polluted mega-city, the average lifespan is down by more than 10 years.
An average resident of Pakistan would gain 3.9 years from meeting the WHO guidelines of limiting average annual PM 2.5 concentration to 5 micrograms per cubic metre, while someone in Nepal would live 4.6 years longer if the guideline was met, according to the report.