Pollution woes in major Indian States: Lancet Planetary Health, 2020

Context

Pollution accounted for nearly 1.7m premature deaths in India in 2019, or 18% of all deaths, a study in the peer-reviewed medical journal Lancet suggests. Five major states accounted for 50 percent deaths due to pollution.

The Report

• Lancet Planetary Health, 2020 was conducted under the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Public Health Foundation of India and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

What are the Key findings of the report?

• Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan account for over 50 per cent deaths attributed to air pollution in India.
• At least 7 million in India died due to air pollution in 2019.
• Over 58 per cent deaths were attributed to outdoor air pollution and 36 per cent due to household air pollution linked to cooking alone. 
• Long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) 2.5 is a major risk factor leading to deaths.
• Uttar Pradesh has an annual average of particulate pollution at 182.9 microgram per cubic metre air (μg/m3), the second-highest after Delhi.  

How the economy is impacted by air pollution?

• The economic loss attributable to air pollution as a percentage of state gross domestic product (GDP).
• The loss is highest in Uttar Pradesh (2.15 per cent), Bihar (1.95 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (1.70 per cent), Rajasthan (1.70 per cent), and Chhattisgarh (1.55 per cent).