Air pollution killed nearly 1.7 million people in India in 2019, accounting for an alarming 17.8% of all deaths in the country in the year, a new paper written as a collaborative effort by Indian institutions that include ICMR has said. The economic loss due to lost output from premature deaths and disease caused by pollution last year was estimated at around £26 billion, nearly 1.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) with Delhi suffering the highest per capita loss, followed by Haryana. The health and economic losses are higher than previously estimated.
The study was conducted by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative, a collaborative effort involving over 300 researchers from institutions like ICMR, Public Health Foundation of India, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and others and assumes significance as it provides data from across different states for policy-makers. The findings show the per capita economic loss due to air pollution was generally higher in states with high per capita GDP.
“This scientific paper presents the latest evidence on air pollution in India, translating health loss to economic impact. The paper provides a ro bust assessment of the cur rent situation in each state and highlights that augment ing the existing air pollution control efforts based on the specific situation of each state would be useful. Air pollution and its impact is not a matter for the health sector alone, and the solutions lie in a multi-sec toral approach,” Niti Aayog member-health Dr VK Paul said.
The economic loss due to premature deaths and illness attributable to air pollution outdoor and household — as a percentage of state GDP was 1.08% in Delhi. The highest loss to GDP was recorded by Uttar Pradesh at nearly 2.6% followed by Bihar at 1.9% and Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan 1.7% each.
When it comes to impact of outdoor air pollution alone on state GDP, Delhi recorded a loss of 1.06%. UP still recorded the highest loss to GDP at just over 1.3% followed by Punjab at 1.2%.
Overall, deaths and diseases caused by air pollution are linked to loss of almost 1.4% of India’s GDP, the study shows. While 40% of the disease burden due to air pollution is from lung diseases, the remaining 60% is from ischaemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and neonatal deaths related to preterm birth. While household air pollution is decreasing in India resulting in 64% reduction in the death rate per 1,00,000 population attributable to it from 1990 to 2019, the death rate from outdoor air pollution has increased during this period by 115%.
