(REUTERS): Air pollution has caused almost 54,000 premature deaths in Indian capital New Delhi last year, a higher toll than in any other metropolis, according to a study released on Thursday.
The study by Greenpeace Southeast Asia Analysis and Swiss firm IQAir measured air quality by recording the concentration of poisonous PM2.5 particles, which are less than 2.5 microns in diameter and can cause deadly diseases.
According to IQAir data, 1800 deaths per million were estimated due to PM2.5 air pollution in Delhi. Six Indian cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Lucknow — featured in the global analysis.
In Delhi, the PM2.5 reading peaked in November when it was 30 times above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) safe limit, the study showed, in line with the Indian government’s air quality index reading at the time.
The damage is “equally worrying” in other Indian cities, said the report. “An estimated 25,000 avoidable deaths in Mumbai in 2020 have been attributed to air pollution. Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad estimated an approximate 12,000, 11,000, and 11,000 avoidable deaths respectively due to polluted air,” it added.
“Polluted air increases the likelihood of deaths due to cancer and stroke, spikes in asthma attacks and worsens the severity of Covid-19 symptoms,” Avinash Chanchal, Climate Campaigner, Greenpeace India, said in the report.
Pollution in Delhi had almost disappeared earlier last year when the government imposed a nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus, but it returned after the government began lifting restrictions at the end of August.
