54,000 People In Delhi Killed Last Year Because Of Air Pollution

Last year, in Delhi, air pollution caused by PM2.5 fine particulate matter resulted in the death of 54,000 people. A new study suggests that the pollution levels of the national capital were nearly six times higher than the limits prescribed by WHO.

As stated in Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s analysis of IQAir data, PM2.5 air pollution led to 1800 deaths per million in Delhi.

Pm2.5 is a term to define fine particulate matter that is smaller than 2.5 micrometers in terms of diameter. PM2.5 exposure is considered to be the most critical environmental risk factor causing deaths globally. In 2015, 4.2 million premature deaths were recorded.

Not just in Delhi, in other Indian cities, the damage is as worrying.

Estimated, in Mumbai, air pollution has caused around 25,000 avoidable deaths. The figure is 12,000, 11,000, 11,000, and 6,700 in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Lucknow.

The economic losses caused by air pollution were $8.1 billion, accounting for 13% of the annual GDP of Delhi.

Despite the relatively better air quality due to strict lockdown imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollution remains a serious public health problem that drastically impacts the country’s economy.

The government needs to act immediately by scaling up the use of renewable energy, ending fossil fuel emissions, as well as boosting accessible and sustainable transport systems.

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