NEW DELHI:A new analysis of the air quality life index (AQLI) on Thursday showed the average citizen living in the Indo-Gangetic plain region can expect to lose about seven years of life expectancy. Particulate pollution is high in Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The study by Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) showed that this is because air quality fails to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline for fine particulate pollution.

A 72 per cent increase in pollution from 1998 to 2016 in the region that is home to about 40 per cent of India’s population.

In 1998, the impact on people’s lives would have been half of what it is today, with residents losing 3.7 years of life expectancy.

In 1998, citizens living outside of the Indo-Gangetic plain region would have seen their lives cut short by 1.2 years relative to what it would have been if air quality met the WHO guideline.

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“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,” said Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and director of EPIC.

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