Poor Air Quality and Life Expectancy in India

Once again Delhi has earned the dubious distinction as the most polluted city in the world, as per the 2025 Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report by the US-based Energy Policy Institute (EPIC), which also predicted a grim future for India, if the air pollution level is not brought down to the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It went on to state that the air in the northern part is more polluted than the rest of the country, while estimating that failure to control air pollution could reduce the life expectancy of every Indian by 3.5 years, while the WHO-prescribed air quality is estimated to increase the same by 9.4 months. These observations indicate that measures we have taken so far to prevent air pollution from escalating, have failed. The failure highlights the need to revisit the anti-air pollution policy and take remedial steps to make it effective. Otherwise, the citizens may face tremendous health hazards in the near future, as poor air quality will have a direct impact on our health.

This issue at hand should be tackled on a mission mode, and for that, we will have to first identify the reasons behind the poor outcome of the ongoing air pollution prevention projects and formulate plans to rectify the fault lines. Speaking of which, vehicle pollution should be significantly reduced, as vehicles release harmful pollutants like PM2.5, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide, which causes several health issues. For this, people should be encouraged to use public transport, while the authorities should consider introducing various modes of public transport like metros, battery-powered vehicles, gas-operated buses, etc. Some experts are in favour of switching to electric vehicles (EV) to reduce carbon footprints but it will be not only costly but also take time for implementation. EVs are best suited as long-term policy, but the present level of air pollution in India requires some urgent solutions. In view of this reality, encouraging the people to use public transport will be more tangible as it only requires enhanced availability.

Similarly, other major sources of air pollution like industries should also be directed to take proper measures to control pollution. A round the clock vigil on polluting industries is a must to compel them to follow all anti-pollution measures strictly. Farmer-friendly projects can be introduced to curb stubble burning by farmers, which is a major cause of air pollution in the Delhi-NCR region besides penalising the defaulters. While, it may be argued that air pollution is a global problem and India alone won’t be able to combat it, the fact remains that the country needs to bring down the average annual particulate matter (PM) concentration, which is said to be more than eight times higher than WHO’s prescribed standards, as air pollution is a major global health threat.