Economic loss per capita was highest in Delhi, says study
The economic loss due to premature deaths and morbidity from air pollution — as high as 1.7 million (18 per cent of the total deaths) — was Rs 2.6 lakh crore or 1.4 per cent of the GDP in India in 2019, according to a new scientific paper published in Lancet Planetary Health release on Tuesday.
The economic loss per capita was highest in Delhi, which was to the tune of $62.0. Delhi was followed by neighbouring Haryana at $53.8, according to the scientific paper on health and economic impact of air pollution.
In Delhi, the loss due to lost output from premature deaths and illness attributable to air pollution as a percentage of State GDP was 1.06 per cent, while Uttar Pradesh recorded highest loss to GDP at 1.34 per cent followed by Punjab at 1.22 per cent.
“Delhi had the highest per-capita economic loss due to air pollution, followed by Haryana in 2019, with 5.4 times variation across all States,” said the findings.
However, household air pollution decreased in India resulting in 64 per cent reduction in the death rate attributable to it from 1990 to 2019, whereas the death rate from outdoor ambient air pollution increased during this period by 115 per cent.
India has a good economic and development trajectory, which can improve further with the reduction of air pollution, the report noted adding that the economic loss due to air pollution as a percentage of the State GDP was higher in the northern and central India States, with the highest in Uttar Pradesh (2.2 per cent of GDP) and Bihar (2 per cent of GDP).
NITI Aayog member Prof Vinod Paul said the scientific paper presents the latest evidence on air pollution in India, translating the health loss to economic impact.
“India has many ongoing major initiatives to reduce air pollution. This paper provides a robust assessment of the trends and current situation in each state, and highlights that augmenting the existing air pollution control efforts based on the specific situation of each state would be useful.
“Air pollution and its impact is not a matter for the health sector alone, and the solutions lie in a multi-sectoral approach with a common commitment to reducing exposure to toxic air, which is impacting the health and productivity of Indians, “ he said.
ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava said various Government schemes such as the “Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana” and “Unnat Chulha Abhiyan” have aided in reducing household air pollution in the country.
Such success encourages us to enhance efforts to reduce outdoor air pollution as well, he said.
“Of the total economic loss of UD36.8 billion (27.4-47.7) attributable to air pollution in India in 2019, 36.6 per cent was from lung diseases, which included COPD (21.1 per cent), lower respiratory infections (14.2 per cent), and lung cancer (1.2 per cent), and the rest was from ischaemic heart disease (24.9 per cent), stroke (14.1 per cent), diabetes (8.4 per cent), neonatal disorders (13.3 per cent), and cataract (2.7 per cent),” said the study.