Pollution behind 23.5 Lakh premature deaths in 2019

New Delhi, May 18

India saw more than 23.5 lakh premature deaths due to pollution of all types in 2019, the highest among all countries globally.

This is one of the key takeaways of a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.

16.7 lakh fatalities caused by air pollution

9.8 lakh deaths due to ambient PM2.5 pollution

6.1 lakh casualties caused by household air pollution

CAUSES

Burning of biomass in households | Coal combustion | Crop burning

MOST-AFFECTED REGION

In India, air pollution is most severe in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (northern India), where topography and meteorology concentrate pollution from energy, mobility, industry, agriculture, and other activities

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Economic losses due to modern forms of pollution such as ozone pollution have increased between 2000 and 2019 in India and are now approximately 1% of its GDP.