Air pollution is reducing the average life expectancy in India by 3.5 years, nearly twice the impact of childhood and maternal malnutrition and more than five times that of unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing, according to a study by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).

The study said child and maternal malnutrition leads to a loss of 1.6 years, tobacco use 1.5 years, and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing about 8.4 months of average life expectancy. Data from the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) show that northern India remains the most polluted region in the world, with 544.4 million people, or 38.9% of India’s population, living under severe pollution conditions. The analysis is based on data from 2023, compared to the previous year.

According to the AQLI data of Indian states and Union territories, residents of Delhi-NCR lose 8.2 years of life expectancy due to PM2.5 pollution compared with the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³. Bihar (5.6 years), Haryana (5.3 years), and Uttar Pradesh (5 years) follow.However, while comparing with PM2.5 from 2023 concentration to the National PM2.5 standard of 40 µg/m³, Delhi-NCR residents lose 4.74 years of life expectancy, followed by Bihar (1.97 years), Haryana (1.83 years), and Uttar Pradesh (1.59 years).