According to a study, air pollution in Indian districts exceeding national standards increases the risk of death across all age groups – by 86 per cent in newborns, 100-120 per cent in children under five years of age, and 13 per cent in adults.
A team of researchers, including those from the Mumbai-based International Institute for Population Sciences, studied the levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) pollution in over 700 districts. The data for the analysis was taken from the National Family and Health Survey (fifth round) and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
The study found that households that do not have a separate kitchen are more likely to result in deaths among newborns and adults.
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Among infants and children under five years of age, “the risk was almost twice and more than twice, respectively, in Indian districts where PM2.5 concentrations were at or above the NAAQS levels,” the authors said in the study published in the journal GeoHealth.
The relationship between PM2.5 and indoor air pollution
Analysing the interaction between PM 2.5 above the NAAQS (40 micrograms per cubic metre) and household air pollution, the team found that it increased mortality by 19 per cent in newborns, 17 per cent in children and 13 per cent in adults.
“The results indicate that PM2.5 displays a stronger association with mortality across different life stages. In particular, when (household air pollution) is combined with ambient pollution, this association is even stronger,” the authors wrote.
He said PM 2.5 levels are generally high in the Indo-Gangetic plain that stretches across the northern Indian subcontinent, due to a variety of factors, including agricultural practices involving burning of crop residues and emissions from industrial centres and manufacturing hubs.
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Exposure to impure fuels, crop residues, and animal dung
Moreover, the use of clean fuel and separate kitchens is very low among households in the middle and lower regions of the plains and districts of central India. Forest-rich regions such as Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and other northeastern states have abundant firewood in the form of crop residues and animal dung as well as easily accessible impure fuel options, the authors said.
According to the team, while previous studies looked at regional data, this study integrated pollution levels recorded in cities with district-level death estimates.
District-level data on PM2.5 pollution was taken from the Greenhouse Gas Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model. Developed by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria, the model is an online tool that assesses strategies aimed at reducing emissions of multiple air pollutants and greenhouse gases.
The authors said the findings revealed the harmful effects of ambient and household air pollution on human health and mortality.
The researchers called for raising awareness among people in vulnerable areas, where use of clean fuels is low and separate kitchens in homes are not common, which is very important for maintaining healthy indoor air.
“Forgetting the World Health Organisation’s air quality guidelines, policymakers in India should focus on reducing anthropogenic PM2.5 emissions to at least the NAAQS, which can significantly reduce the burden of diseases, more precisely, premature deaths,” the authors write.
