Life expectancy in India has gone down by 2.6 years due to deadly diseases caused by air pollution, according to a recent report by an environment think tank.
The report by the environment organisation Centre forScience and Environment (CSE) revealed that outdoor and household air pollutiontogether are causing deadly diseases.
“Air pollution is now the third highest cause of deathamong all health risks ranking just above smoking in India. This is a combinedeffect of outdoor particulate matter (PM) 2.5, ozone and household airpollution.
“Due to this combined exposure, South Asians, includingIndians are dying early – their life expectancy has reduced by over 2.6 years.This is much higher than the global tally of reduced life expectancy by anaverage of 20 months. While globally a child born today will die 20 monthssooner on an average than would be expected without air pollution in India theywould die 2.6 years earlier,” the report released by the CSE said.
While exposure to outdoor particulate matter (PM) accountedfor a loss of nearly one year and six months in life expectancy, exposure tohousehold air pollution accounted for a loss of nearly one year and two months,according to the CSE.
“Thus, together Indians lose 2.6 years,” it said.The report said household air pollution contributes about a quarter of theoutdoor air pollution in the country.
“The deadly tally broken up by diseases shows thatchronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) due to air pollution at 49 percent is responsible for close to half of deaths, followed by lung cancer deathsat 33 per cent, diabetes and ischaemic heart disease at 22 per cent each andstroke at 15 per cent. It is disturbing how COPD, lung cancer and ischaemicheart disease dominate the dubious tally,” it said. The report referred totwo review papers by scientists from the Forum of International RespiratorySocieties and said air pollution can harm acutely as well as chronically,potentially affecting every organ in the body.
“According to the study, ultra-fine particles passthrough lungs are taken up by cells and carried via the bloodstream to expose virtuallyall cells in the body. Air pollution may be damaging every organ and virtuallyevery cell in the human body, according to a comprehensive new global reviewrecently reported,” the CSE said.
The research shows head-to-toe harm, from heart and lungdisease to diabetes and dementia, and from liver problems, brain, intelligence,abdominal organs, reproduction, and bladder cancer to brittle bones and damagedskin. Fertility, foetuses and children are also affected by toxic air, it said.None of the officials from governmentauthorities was available for comment.