Pollution likely to cut 9 years off life expectancy of 40% of Indians

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Sep 02, 2021 06:00 am

NEW DELHI : Air pollution is likely to reduce the life expectancy of about 40 per cent of the people in India by more than nine years, according to a report released by an American research group yesterday.

To arrive at the life expectancy number, the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) compared the health of people exposed to different levels of long-term air pollution and applied the results to various places in India and elsewhere.

More than 480 million people living in central, eastern and northern India, including the capital, New Delhi, endure significantly high pollution levels, said the report.

Lauding India's National Clean Air Program (NCAP), launched in 2019 to rein in dangerous pollution levels, the EPIC report said "achieving and sustaining" the NCAP goals would raise the country's overall life expectancy by 1.7 years and that of New Delhi by 3.1 years. - REUTERS