India tops list of nations in ozone pollution deaths

India has been in denial when it comes to linking premature deaths to air pollution in the absence of conclusive data, but according to a global report by two US-based institutes, we may now have to rethink.

According to the State of Glob al Air 2017 report, released in Boston, the country's worsening air pollution caused some 1.1 million premature deaths in 2015 and it now rivals China in having among the highest air pollution health burdens in the world.

India accounts for the highest number of premature deaths due to ozone pollution, its toll 13 times higher than Bangladesh's, and 21 times higher than Pakistan's.

According to a website on the report , 92% of the world's population lives in areas with unhealthy air.

"We are seeing increasing air pollution problems worldwide, and this new report and website details why that air pollution is a major contributor to early death. The trends we report show that we have seen progress in some parts of the world, but serious challenges remain," said Dan Greenbaum, president of the Health Effects Institute (HEI), the research institute that designed and carried out the study.

The report was put together by HEI in cooperation with the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington and the University of British Columbia and it involved more than 2,000 researchers. The report factored in the role of an extensive set of behavioural, dietary and environmental risk factors for more than 300 diseases in 195 countries from 1990 onwards.

Referring to the findings of the report, Anumita Roychowdhury of the Centre for Science and Environment, said, "India can't afford to remain complacent or in denial. With so many people dying early and falling ill... due to particulate and ozone pollution, it is a state of health emergency. This demands nationwide intervention to ensure stringent mitigation and a roadmap to meet clean air standards".