Smog-choked Indian cities, including the capital Delhi, suffer from the worst air pollution in the world, choking residents’ lungs and posing a growing health threat as researchers continue to uncover the growing damage.
For the new study, an Indian-led team looked at levels of cancer-causing fine particles known as PM2.5 pollutants in the cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Shimla and Varanasi.
According to the study, more than 33,000 deaths annually from 2008 to 2019 could be attributed to exposure to PM2.5 above the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 15 micrograms per cubic meter.
This represents 7.2 percent of the deaths recorded in those cities during that period, according to the study published in the Lancet Planetary Health journal, and reviewed by Sky News Arabia.
The Indian capital, New Delhi, was the worst, with 12,000 annual deaths linked to air pollution, or 11.5 percent of the total.
Even cities where air pollution is not thought to be that bad — such as Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai — saw high death rates, the researchers said, calling for India to tighten its air quality standards.
The Indian state currently recommends 60 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic metre, which is four times higher than the World Health Organisation’s guidelines.
Lowering that limit and enforcing it “would save tens of thousands of lives a year,” said study co-author Joel Schwartz of Harvard University.
“Methods to control pollution exist and are being used elsewhere. They need to be implemented urgently in India,” he said in a statement.
The World Health Organization says nearly everyone on Earth breathes more than the recommended amount of air pollution, which can lead to strokes, heart disease, lung cancer and other respiratory diseases.
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