Air pollution cuts lifespans in South Asia by 5 years or more: study

Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan account for more than half of the world’s years lost to pollution, according to an Energy Policy Institute study

People in Bangladesh risk losing 6.8 years of life per person on average due to pollution, while the average lifespan in New Delhi is down 10 years

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An Indian commuter wears a makeshift mask to guard against air pollution in Kolkata on Monday. India is responsible for about 59 per cent of the world’s increase in pollution since 2013, a new report found. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 3:01pm, 29 Aug 2023Updated: 3:21pm, 29 Aug 2023

Rising air pollution can cut life expectancy by more than five years per person in South Asia, one of the world’s most polluted regions, according to a report published on Tuesday that flagged the growing burden of hazardous air on health.

The region, which includes the world’s most polluted countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, accounts for more than half of the total life years lost globally to pollution, the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute said in its latest Air Quality Life Index.

Rapid industrialisation and population growth have contributed to declining air quality in South Asia, where particulate pollution levels are currently more than 50 per cent higher than at the start of the century and now overshadow dangers posed by larger health threats.

Children sit on railway tracks in Dhaka amid heavy pollution. People in Bangladesh risk losing 6.8 years of life on average to pollution, according to a new study. Photo: Zuma Press Wire/dpa

People in Bangladesh, the world’s most polluted country, stand to lose 6.8 years of life on average per person, compared to 3.6 months in the United States, according to the study, which uses satellite data to calculate the impact of an increase in airborne fine particles on life expectancy.

India is responsible for about 59 per cent of the world’s increase in pollution since 2013, the report said, as hazardous air threatens to shorten lives further in some of the country’s more polluted regions. In the densely populated New Delhi, the world’s most polluted mega-city, the average lifespan is down by more than 10 years.

Reducing global levels of lung-damaging airborne particles, known as PM 2.5, to levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) could raise average life expectancy by 2.3 years, or a combined 17.8 billion life years, the report said.