Air pollution could have contributed to as many as 1.5 million deaths each year between 2009 and 2019, a recent study linking PM2.5 pollution and mortality says.
The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health&nbsp;journal was authored by researchers from Ashoka University and the Centre for Chronic Disease Control.
Comparing annual deaths and PM2.5 data at the district level, researchers found that an annual rise of 10&micro;g/m3 in PM2.5 pollution correlated to a 8.6% rise in annual mortality.
The research also shows that almost all Indians live in areas where PM2.5 levels are higher than recommended.
The World Health Organization&nbsp;deems an annual average of 5&micro;g/m3 as the maximum safe limit. The Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standards (INAAQS) puts that number at 40&micro;g/m3.
According to the study, 82% of all Indians--about 1.1 billion of us--live in areas where PM2.5 levels exceed even INAAQS safe limit.
The study used mortality data from the Civil Registration System. For pollution levels, researchers studied data from satellites and more than 1,000 ground-monitoring systems.
The study marked wide-ranging variations in PM2.5 pollution across region and time. For the period studied, Lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh had the lowest PM2.5 levels (11.2&micro;g/m3) in 2019, while the highest recorded number recorded--119&micro;g/m3--came from Uttar Pradesh&rsquo;s Ghaziabad, and New Delhi in 2016.

PM2.5 is fine particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less in diameter (Pic: Mohit Pareek)

Rise of 10µg/m3 in PM2.5 correlated to a 8.6% rise in annual mortality over 10 years: Study

Air Pollution Linked to 1.5M Annual Deaths

Rise of 10µg/m3 in PM2.5 correlated to a 8.6% rise in annual mortality over 10 years: Study

December 12, 2024 | 07:02 IST