Death rates from air pollution spikes vary across cities: Study

Death rates from air pollution spikes vary across cities: Study

Delhi had about 12,000 deaths per year, while the lowest rate among the 10 cities surveyed is Shimla, with 59 deaths per year between 2008-19

A spike in air pollution in Indian cities that have clean air may raise death rates higher than in cities that have higher pollution loads. Thus, the same increase in air pollution in, say, Bengaluru, can raise death rates more than in Delhi, which has much higher background levels of air pollution.

Overall, however, cities that had high pollution loads saw a greater fraction of annual deaths attributable to air pollution, with 11.5% of Delhi’s annual deaths attributable to air pollution, and 4.8% in Bengaluru. The latter’s population had 30% the exposure to daily air pollution than the average Delhi resident, says a first-of-its kind multi-city analysis in India that studied the health effects of short-term exposure to air pollution published in the peer-reviewed Lancet Planet Health on Thursday.

Also read: How can India monitor air pollution-related illnesses effectively? | Explained

Nearly 30,000 deaths or 7.2% of the 10 cities’ annual deaths were due to short-term PM 2.5. Daily deaths totalled across the 10 cities rose by 1.42% for every 10 μg/m3 increase in the average PM2.5 exposure over a two-day period, the study found. The scientists analysed pollution and death registry data from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Shimla, and Varanasi.

From air pollution, Delhi had about 12,000 deaths per year while Shimla had 59 deaths per year between 2008-19 — the lowest among the 10 cities. In the same period, Bengaluru had 2,102 deaths.

“Our findings also confirmed that the risk of mortality rose more quickly at lower PM2.5 levels but plateaued as levels increased. Significantly, we found mortality risk to be very high (2.65%) even when analysing days with PM2.5 levels below the current Indian national air quality standard of 60 μg/m3,” the authors, who span multiple institutes in Europe and India, reported.

In Frames | Gasping for breath

Wilting smoke: Stubble being burnt behind mustard fields near AmbalaLeft fuming: Charred remains in a field after stubble burning near Ambala.Ground Zero: A thick laver of smog covers the Central Vista in the national capital. Clear signs: The Signature Bridge in New Delhi engulfed in dense smog. Risky affair: A farmhand pulls out a cycle tube from burning stubble in a field near Ambala bypass in ChandigarhFar from sunny: A setting sun is almost lost in the smoke emanating from the fields as a farmer burns stubble in Ambala, HaryanaSmoked out: An autorickshaw driver takes cover during a fumigation drive in Jangpura, New DelhiSitting ducks: A traffic policemen wears mask while on duty during smoggy weather in New DelhiHard to see: Vehicles stuck in a traffic jam on the Delhi-Gurugram Expressway amid low visibility due to smog during a winter morning, in Gurugram. 1/3″,””],
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