Kolkatans losing 6 years of their Life due to Air Pollution
West Bengal is India’s seventh most polluted state – AQLI, University of Chicago
12th July, Kolkata: SwitchON Foundation today in collaboration with ‘The Energy Policy Institute, University of Chicago (EPIC)’ organized a virtual workshop in Kolkata on the topic “ Does Air Pollution reduce our life expectancy?”. The event was hosted at RG Kar Medical college and Hospital in association with EPIC INDIA and South Asian Medical Student Association (SAMSA). The workshop
highlighted the causal relationship between human exposure to air pollution and reduced life expectancy based on findings of a more locally done research study on the subject. According to the World Health Organization, every year around 7 million premature deaths are attributable to air pollution—a staggering
800 people every hour or 13 every minute.
The virtual session was participated by eminent doctors from Kolkata. Also participated by students from distinguished schools and colleges, including medical students from the city. Delivering the keynote address on the occasion – Prof Dr. Sandip Ghosh Department of Orthopaedics, Principal, R G Kar Medical College and Hospital said “India has one of the highest polluted countries in the world. The air we breathe ultimately decides how much longer we live.”
Dr. Arup Haldar, a senior pulmonologist from the Woodland Hospital said “India ranks first globally related to Asthma deaths and second related to COPD deaths. Internationally COPD is known as a disease of the smokers, in India we see the majority of ‘non-smoking COPD. The Lungs in takes 10,000 liters of air every day to generate 10,000 liters of blood every day. Therefore the air we breathe ultimately decides how much longer we live.”
According to The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago’s recently released Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) Annual Report, India is the world’s second most polluted country. The report says that air pollution shortens an average Indian’s life expectancy by five years, relative to what it would be if the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline for fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) of 5 µg/m³ were met. Even if India were to reduce its particulate pollution concentrations to the less stringent national PM2.5 standard of 40 µg/m³, it would still add 1.5 years on average to the life of an average resident.
The report says that in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Northern India, 510 million residents, nearly 40 percent of India’s population, are on track to lose 7.6 years of life expectancy on average. According to the AQLI, West Bengal is India’s seventh most polluted state, with an average PM2.5 concentration of 65.4 µg/m³. If West Bengal were to reduce its average PM2.5 pollution to the level prescribed by the WHO guideline, it would end up adding 5.9 years to the life of its average resident. If West Bengal were to reduce its average PM2.5 pollution to the national standard, it would still add 2.5 years to the life of its average resident.
“We may not frequently see visible clouds of air pollution in Kolkata’s air, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t impacting the health of the residents here. Our AQLI report indicates that the air quality levels in the entire state have deteriorated by about 90% between 1998-2020. And this means air pollution is making residents in the state lead shorter and sicker lives,” said Ashirbad S Raha, Communications Director at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India), while sharing insights at the workshop with future doctors in Kolkata.
Ashirbad added, “Our web tool, AQLI, uses highly localized satellite data and informs the citizens and policymakers about the annual average of PM2.5 levels in their district and how that impacts their life expectancy. So having that data can be a great starting point to understand the benefits of air pollution policies in very concrete terms and take proactive steps in that direction.”
In the capital city Kolkata, the average PM2.5 concentrations stand at 58.2 µg/m³, which is 11.6 times the WHO guideline. An average Kolkata resident is losing 5.2 years by not being compliant with the WHO PM2.5 pollution guideline. The report cites Bankura as the most polluted district in West Bengal. Following Bankura are the districts of Barddhaman, Hooghly, Malda, and Puruliya. If Bankura’s current pollution levels were to comply with the WHO guideline, it would add seven years on average to the life of its average citizen.
In 2019, the Government of India launched its National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The goal of NCAP is to reduce particulate pollution by 20 to 30 percent, relative to 2017 levels, by 2024. If West Bengal were to reduce its current PM2.5 pollution by 25 percent (midpoint of the NCAP standards), it would add 1.6 years to the lives of its average resident.
Dr Kaustav Choudhury, Pediatric Consultant, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital said “India ranks first globally related to Asthma deaths and second related to pneumonia deaths. Though in other countries Asthma is known as a disease triggered by allergen or viral infection, but in India we see ‘dust allergy as triggering factor for Asthma in majority cases”
Speaking at the event, Vinay Jaju MD SwitchON Foundation said “Doctors have first hand experience of the health ill-effects of air pollution, we pay attention and listen to them when they declare air pollution as the most important health threat and emergency. While COVID’s impact can be seen immediately, air pollution is a silent killer and that is why it is even more dangerous than COVID”
A majority of Kolkata’s working population continue to be exposed to levels of air pollution substantially above National as well as WHO Air Quality Guidelines and, as such, air pollution constitutes a major threat to public health.
Media Dossier
Contact: Vinay Jaju | M: +91 9331178105 | Email: VJ@SwitchON.org.in
Visit https://aqli.epic.uchicago.edu/ for more information on the AQLI Report findings
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