Air pollution shortens average life expectancy in India, the second most polluted country in the world after Bangladesh by five years relative to what it would be if the new stringent WHO norms are met. In fact pollution would cut 7.6 years of life expectancy of 40% of Indians who live in the Indo Gangetic plains. While across the world unsafe air shaves two years off global life expectancy, it is the greatest threat to human health in India. The worst scenario is in Delhi where a resident loses 10 years of his life owing to toxic air quality. Scarily an independent pollution monitoring body's report has mentioned that 44% of the world's increase in pollution since 2013 has been contributed by India. Since 1998 India's average annual particulate pollution ( PM 2.5) has increased by over 61% ; 80% of deaths are attributed to PM 2.5 exposure. Over 63% of the Indian population live in areas that exceed the country's own national air quality standards of 40 microgrammes/ cubic metre. There is a strong case for governments to prioritize air pollution as an urgent policy issue.
