Air pollution reduces life by more than 9 years!
As Delhi has started breathing bad air, it is mandatory to note the health consequences that the population residing in the national capital are prone to.
As per a 2021 report on Air Quality Life Index released by the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute: India is the most polluted country in the world, with more than 510 million people—or about 40 percent of the country’s
population—living in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Northern India where pollution levels regularly exceed those found anywhere else in the world by an order of magnitude. The residents of this region, which includes the megacities of Delhi and Kolkata, are on track to lose more than 9 years of life expectancy if 2019 concentrations persist.
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It also added that in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, the AQLI data reveal that the average person would live 5.6 years longer if pollution were reduced to meet the WHO guideline.
What are the health consequences of air pollution?
Exposure to air pollution can cause both short term and long term complications to the health. Severe health complications happen when the air is laden with fine PM2.5 particles which easily enter the body and settle in the lungs.
Asthma attacks
Air pollution can worsen the existing asthma condition in people and can also trigger a new attack.
"Breathing ozone and particle pollution can lead to increased asthma attacks," warns the American Lung Association.
The US Environmental Protection Agency says in 2018, six million kids in the US were affected with Asthma due to air pollution.
A research study by the Children’s Center at Stanford University found that short-term and long-term exposures to high levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and PM 2.5 were associated with alterations to the two genes responsible for immune tolerance in children and concluded that those alterations were significantly associated with asthma.
Lung cancer
A September 2022 study published in the Lancet has talked about how increasing air pollution levels increases the risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma, and cancers of the mouth and throat.
Another study by the UK’s Francis Crick Institute and University College London found that people regularly exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 air pollution were at increased risk of epidermal growth factor receptor mutant lung cancer and other cancers.
Other deadly diseases
Long term exposure to pollutants in the air can also lead to chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD, pneumonia, and even heart diseases.
It can also lead to central nervous system dysfunctions.
The intensity and the occurence of these diseases varies from individual to individual depending on their existing health condition, age and sex. It also depends on the lifestyle of the individuals.
What causes the life threatening pollution in Delhi?
Several factors render air in Delhi unbreathable.
Stubble burning, construction activities, industrial releases and vehicles contribute the most to Delhi's sickening pollution.
A 2016 study by IIT Kanpur, Delhi Pollution Control Committee and Department of Environment, NCT Delhi found that road dust accounts for more than 50% of the air pollution in the city.
"The most health-harmful pollutants – closely associated with excessive premature mortality – are fine PM2.5 particles that penetrate deep into lung passageways," warns the WHO.