Undeniably, air pollution is one of the biggest threats to human health. The World Health Organisation links close to 7 million premature deaths to air pollution. “This finding more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk,” noted WHO’s latest release. The release also established a correlation between high levels of indoor and outdoor air pollution and an increased risk of developing a range of non-communicable, lifestyle diseases like cardiovascular ailments, stroke, respiratory disorders and even cancer.

The University of Chicago’s Air Quality Life-Index has found India as one of the most polluted countries in the world. The report noted if WHO’s air quality standards are met by the country, Indians can add about 4 more years to their lifespan. “If the country reduced pollution to comply with its national standards, its people could live more than 1 year longer on average,” noted the report. Some of the greatly impacted cities would include Delhi where an average person can add around 6 years to his/her lifespan if the country meets the national air-quality standards and up to 9 years if WHO standards are met.

The study takes air borne particulate matter pollution, PM 2.5, into account and extrapolates it to see what impact any reduction in its volume would have on the life span of people. Accordingly, it says that if the PM 2.5 quantity in Delhi’s air meets the WHO annual standard of 10 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3), people can live up to nine years longer and six years longer if it meets the national standard of 40 ug/m3.

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