Air Pollution Killed 1.7 Mn Indians In 2019

1.7 million deaths (18 per cent of the total deaths) in India were recorded due to air pollution last year taking the economic loss due to premature deaths and morbidity from the pollution to ₹ 2,60,000 crore or 1.4 per cent of the GDP.

According to a PTI report, the scientific paper on health and economic impact of air pollution published in Lancet Planetary Health on Tuesday stated that household air pollution decreased in India resulting in 64 percent reduction in the death rate attributable to it from 1990 to 2019, whereas the death rate from outdoor ambient air pollution increased during this period by 115 percent.

The findings of the paper highlighted that "lost output from deaths and diseases due to air pollution led to a loss of 1.4 per cent of the GDP of the country".

India has a good economic and development trajectory, which can improve further with the reduction of air pollution, the scientific paper noted.

According to the paper, the economic loss due to air pollution as a percentage of the state GDP was higher in the northern and central India states, with the highest in Uttar Pradesh (2.2 per cent of GDP) and Bihar (2 per cent of GDP).

According to the scientific study, findings in this analysis said that 40 percent of the disease burden due to air pollution is from lung diseases, the remaining 60 percent is from ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and neonatal deaths related to preterm birth.