Various Reports on Effect of Air Pollution

 

  • State of Global Air 2020 Report: According to it, India faced the highest per capita pollution exposure (83.2 μg/cubic metre) in the world.
    • In 2020, over 116,000 infants in India died within a month after birth due to exposure to severe air pollution.
    • The report also suggests exposure to polluted air during pregnancy is linked to low weight and premature birth.
    • Further, it noted that long-term exposure to outdoor and household air pollution contributed to over 1.67 million annual deaths from stroke, heart attack, diabetes, lung cancer, chronic lung diseases, and neonatal diseases in India in 2019.
  • WHO: According to WHO, toxic air is now the biggest environmental risk of early death, responsible for one in nine of all fatalities.
    • It kills 7 million people a year, far more than HIV, tuberculosis and malaria combined,
    • An estimated 4.2 million premature deaths globally are linked to ambient air pollution, mainly from heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute respiratory infections in children.
  • World Bank: According to a 2019 World Bank report, the lost lives and ill health caused are also a colossal economic burden:
    • $225bn is lost labour income in 2013, or $5.11tn per year (about $1m a minute), if welfare losses are also added.