India accounts for 75 per cent of air pollution deaths: WHO

Citing that air pollution is the world’s biggest environmental health risk, killing nearly eight lakh people annually in the Southeast Asian Region, the latest WHO report has revealed that India alone accounts for over 75 per cent of deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer.

The report said that nine out of 10 people globally are breathing poor quality air, while nearly 90 per cent of air pollution-related deaths occur in low and middle-income countries, with nearly two out of three occurring in WHO’s Southeast Asian region, including India and Western Pacific regions. “The new WHO burden of disease estimates shows that 94 per cent of the premature deaths caused by air pollution are due to cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancers. The remaining are from acute respiratory infections in children under five years of age. The magnitude of the health impact of air pollution calls for urgent action to prevent these avoidable risks and deaths,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director for WHO Southeast Asia, said.

While, the WHO said that more than 80 per cent of people living in urban areas are exposed to air pollution levels that exceed WHO limits, and all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities are the most impacted. According to the latest urban air quality database, 98 per cent of cities in low and middle income countries with more than 100,000 inhabitants do not meet WHO air quality guidelines. However, in high-income countries, that percentage decreases to 56 per cent,” it found.