Air pollution: Every day, 464 children in India die: Report

According to "State of Global Air (SoGA) 2024," published by the US-based research organization Health Effects Institute (HEI), 464 children under the age of five are said to die in India every day as a result of factors associated to air pollution. According to the report, the total India toll in 2021 was 2.1 million, spanning all age categories.

According to the research, air pollution has surpassed tobacco and diabetes as the leading cause of death, trailing only hypertension.

According to the report, diseases and ailments linked to air pollution claimed 8.1 million lives worldwide in 2021, with India accounting for one in four of these deaths. China (2.3 million deaths) and India (2.1 million deaths) shared 55% of the world's fatalities from air pollution in 2021.


Impact of air pollution
According to Pallavi Pant of HEI, air pollution has an effect on the burden of non-communicable diseases in India. Air pollution was responsible for almost 40% of heart disease deaths, 33% of lung cancer deaths, 20% of type 2 diabetes deaths, 41% of stroke deaths, and 70% of COPD deaths in 2021.

Six out of ten deaths worldwide attributed to air pollution are caused by the tiny PM2.5 particle; the remaining two pollutants, ozone and household air pollution, account for 38% and 6% of deaths, respectively.

The report, which was created for the first time in collaboration with Unicef, also highlighted the millions of people who suffer from crippling chronic illnesses that burden economies, society, and healthcare systems. According to the report, children under the age of five are particularly susceptible, with health consequences including low birth weight, asthma, and lung disorders.

[With TOI inputs]