NEW DELHI: A whopping 1.5 million deaths were reported in India annually from 2009 to 2019 due to long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution every year, said the latest Lancet study.The study, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, said that the entire 1.4 billion population of India live in areas having PM2.5 levels higher than World Health Organisation-recommended yearly average of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.Researchers, including those at Ashoka University and Centre for Chronic Disease Control, also found that nearly 82% of India’s population, or 1.1 billion, lived in areas with yearly average PM2.5 levels exceeding those recommended by the Indian National Ambient Air Quality Standards (40 microns per cubic metre).“The extremely high levels of air pollution in India contribute to a higher fraction of mortality than previously estimated, with high mortality even at concentrations below the current Indian national air quality standards. This study, and the available evidence from other studies across the world, strongly underpins the need for India to provide appropriate regulation to reduce emissions and protect public health,” it said.
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