The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), an interactive, data-driven tool that converts exposure to air pollution into its impact on life expectancy, is now fully available in Hindi. This new feature makes using the AQLI even more convenient for hundreds of millions of Hindi speakers in India and around the world and builds on the great interest that the AQLI has generated since its launch nearly a year ago.

The launch of the Hindi AQLI comes as India and much of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere enter the winter heating season—a time when pollution levels can rise substantially due to increased fossil fuel consumption.

“With the addition of this Hindi version, hundreds of millions more users will be able to learn how particulate pollution is affecting their lives, and, importantly, how air pollution policies can make an enormous difference in increasing life expectancy. “

– Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and director of the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).

The Hindi platform provides crucial information to a segment of the Indian population impacted by high levels of pollution. The AQLI’s analysis finds that particulate pollution is exacting a devastating toll in Northern India, a region that contains a large segment of Hindi speakers and includes Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The average citizen living in this Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) region, home to 40 percent of India’s population, can expect to lose about 7 years of life expectancy due to pollution levels that vastly exceed the World Health Organization’s safe guideline. This stands in contrast to the rest of the country, where citizens can expect to lose 2.6 years off their lives. Particulate pollution levels in the IGP region increased by 72 percent from 1998 to 2016.This stands out in contrast to the rest of the country, where citizens can expect to lose 2.6 years off their lives.

The addition of the Hindi version of AQLI expands the Index’s ability to inform citizens and policymakers about particulate air pollution, the greatest threat to human health globally. Hindi users have access to all the same capabilities as the English-language version of the site, including the ability to explore and download data, get basic information on pollution and health, review successful case studies, and access the latest reports and analysis. Hindi users can select the language from an option menu.