After a decline in particulate pollution in 2022 in India, levels once again increased in 2023; and that if these were to be brought down to meet prescribed standards, it would add 3.5 years to the average life expectancy.
This is from the annual Air Quality Life Index report released today by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).
In 2023, the country’s average PM2.5 concentration level stood at 41 μg/m3, more than eight times higher than the World Health Organisation’s prescribed limit of 5 μg/m3.
Amidst this national average, Delhi remains the most severely impacted, and here, the average life expectancy would be up by 8.2 years if the WHO standard is met.
Overall in South Asia, PM2.5 rose 2.9 per cent in 2023 after a 9.6 per cent drop in the 2012-22 period, yet it remains 7 per cent below 2021. Nepal and Bhutan saw the biggest absolute declines at 5 μg/m³.
Air pollution is just one factor that stems life expectancy in India. Child and maternal malnutrition takes off 1.6 years, tobacco use 1.5 years, and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing just 8.4 months from the average Indian’s lifespan.
The burden of pollution is not distributed equally.
The Northern Plains, including states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi, are among the most affected regions. Here, 544 million residents, representing nearly 39 per cent of India’s population, could gain an average of five extra years of life if air were as clean as the WHO recommends.
Outside the north, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra also bear a heavy burden, with potential life expectancy gains of 3.3, 3.1, and 2.8 years, respectively, from meeting WHO targets.
Even in the least polluted parts of India, like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, cutting PM2.5 levels to the guideline could extend average lives by around a year.
Thus, toxic air is a universal threat, and the benefits of clean air would touch every corner of the nation.
While the WHO guideline is an international benchmark, India sets its own national annual PM2.5 standard at 40 µg/m³. Even by this more lenient yardstick, nearly half the population, some 46 per cent, live in areas where pollution exceeds national limits. Reducing levels in these regions to meet the Indian standard could yield an average of 1.5 extra years of life for affected communities.
Recognising the growing emergency, India launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019. The original goal: cut PM concentrations by 20–30 per cent (relative to 2017 levels) by 2024, focused initially on 102 “non-attainment cities.” By 2022, the program had expanded to target a 40 per cent reduction by 2026 across 131 non-attainment cities. If the revised target is met, the annual PM2.5 exposure in these cities would drop by 21.9 µg/m³ relative to 2017, adding 2.1 years to city dwellers’ lives, and nudging up India’s overall life expectancy by almost eight months.
As of 2023, the NCAP’s focus areas had seen a 10.5 per cent decline in pollution compared to 2017, adding six months to the lives of 443 million residents. But progress is incremental, and nationwide figures remain stubbornly high. 2023 marked a rise in PM2.5 after the brief pandemic-era drop in 2022, fueling further concern about the durability of improvements.
India’s air pollution challenge is compounded by its rapid urbanisation and industrialisation.
The AQLI report draws on rigorous peer-reviewed research (translated from studies in China) to show a stark, causal relationship between long-term particulate exposure and early mortality: every additional 10 µg/m³ of annual PM2.5 shaves off nearly one year of life. These findings are matched with hyper-local satellite measurements, offering a granular look at the costs and the opportunities for progress.
India’s fight for clean air will require systemic transformation, including ambitious action from policymakers, new standards, enforcement of industrial and vehicular emission controls, and robust public investment in clean technology. The health stakes are overwhelming: clean air isn’t simply an environmental or technical issue, but perhaps the greatest lever available for improving the nation’s quality of life.
Thus, while decisive action to clean the air could extend life across the board, it would also turn back one of the most severe public health crises facing modern India.