Indians are on average losing five years of their life to toxic air, a new study has found, the latest health warning about the growing air pollution crisis in the world’s second-most populous country.
The Air Quality Life Index produced by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago found that Indians were breathing air with particulate matter that exceeded World Health Organisation levels.
The WHO considers five micrograms per cubic metre of particulate matter (PM2.5) — tiny particles of pollutants in the air that enter the human lungs and bloodstream — as the safe level.
The study is based on data from 2020 and claims average annual particulate levels were roughly 11 times higher than the global agency’s safe levels — which were revised from 10 to five micrograms of particulate matter last year.
India’s own air quality safe levels are 40 micrograms per cubic metre.
The South Asian nation with a population of 1.3 billion is the world’s second most polluted country, according to an earlier report by AQLI.
At least 62 of the Indian cities were among the 100 most polluted places globally in air pollution rankings by Swiss firm IQAir’s report World Air Quality earlier in March.
“Of all the countries in the world, India faces the highest health burden of air pollution due to its high particulate pollution concentrations and large population,” the report, that was released on Tuesday, said.
“Measured in terms of life expectancy, particulate pollution is the greatest threat to human health in India, reducing life expectancy by five years. In contrast, smoking reduces the average life expectancy by 1.5 years,” it added.
The report further said the area in the vast Indo-Gangetic plains of northern India, where some 510 million residents live, was exposed to air pollution levels that could shave off 7.6 years of life expectancy on average.
But the most worrying observation came from Delhi — the world’s most polluted capital — where residents were expected to lose 10 years of their lives if pollution levels continue to persist above the WHO mark.
The city is home to 22 million people, who suffer from the scourge of air pollution throughout the year. However, toxic air levels spike during winter, when winds push smoke from stubble burning on farmland into the city and shroud it under a blanket of smog.
It had PM 2.5 of 96.4 micrograms per cubic metre as an annual average, more than 20 times the safe limit of the WHO at five micrograms per cubic metre.
Sunil Dahiya, an analyst with the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a non-profit think tank researching air pollution, said that the report is a “reminder” that the government was not doing enough to curb the menace and reduce health risks.
A report by the British medical journal The Lancet in 2020 said India lost 1.67 million people to toxic air in 2019.
India enacted the five-year National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) with an aim to control air pollution levels in 120 cities and to promote better quality by identifying cost-effective measures to reduce emissions from all known sources by 2024.
The report said that if the NCAP policies are implemented and the goals are achieved, India’s life expectancy can be increased by 1.6 years.
However, experts such as Mr Dahiya say that such policies are hardly followed on the ground. There has been very little or no emission-load reduction, including fossil fuel reduction — one of the major causes of pollution.
“We have seen over the last few years, before Covid, NCAP was announced by the government," Mr Dahiya told The National. "There was intent and acknowledgement that air pollution is a leading risk factor."
“Although, when it comes to actual implementation of any policy, there is a big difference. We don’t even have a single city or region that has come up with fossil fuel consumption cap, so our government should step up and change the approach to more emission-load reduction to curb pollution."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Rain Management
Year started: 2017
Based: Bahrain
Employees: 100-120
Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Dubai World Cup prize money
Group 1 (Purebred Arabian) 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic - $750,000
Group 2 1,600m(Dirt) Godolphin Mile - $750,000
Group 2 3,200m (Turf) Dubai Gold Cup – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Turf) Al Quoz Sprint – $1,000,000
Group 2 1,900m(Dirt) UAE Derby – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Dirt) Dubai Golden Shaheen – $1,500,000
Group 1 1,800m (Turf) Dubai Turf – $4,000,000
Group 1 2,410m (Turf) Dubai Sheema Classic – $5,000,000
Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
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Favourite author - Paulo Coelho
Favourite holiday destination - Cuba
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Role model - My Grandfather
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3.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Al Ajayib, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
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The biog
Name: Mohammed Imtiaz
From: Gujranwala, Pakistan
Arrived in the UAE: 1976
Favourite clothes to make: Suit
Cost of a hand-made suit: From Dh550
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Thailand v UAE, Tuesday, 4pm (UAE)
TV: Abu Dhabi Sports
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Dubai World Cup Carnival Thursday race card
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m
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7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
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2. North America
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4. Hawkesbury
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31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
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Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
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- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Naga
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Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
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Rating: 4/5
