November 28, 2018:
By comparison, first-hand cigarette smoke leads to a reduction in global average life expectancy of about 1.6 years.
People in India would live an average 4.3 years longer if the country met the global guidelines for particulate pollution, according to a study which found that effect of pollution on life expectancy is worse than HIV/AIDS, cigarette smoking, & even terrorism.
According to the new Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), developed by researchers at the University of Chicago in the US, particulate air pollution cuts global average life expectancy by 1.8 years per person.
The AQLI establishes particulate pollution as the single greatest threat to human health globally, with its effect on life expectancy exceeding that of devastating communicable diseases such as tuberculosis & HIV/AIDS, behavioural killers like cigarette smoking, & even war.
Critically, the AQLI reports these results in tangible terms that are relatable for most people.
The AQLI is based on a pair of studies that quantify the causal relationship between long-term human exposure to particulate pollution & life expectancy.
Seventy-five per cent of the global population, or 5.5 billion people, live in areas where particulate pollution exceeds the WHO guideline.
The AQLI reveals that India & China, which make up 36 per cent of the world's population, account for 73 per cent of all years of life lost due to particulate pollution.
On average, people in India would live 4.3 years longer if the country met the WHO guideline -- expanding the average life expectancy at birth there from 69 to 73 years.
In the US, about a third of the population lives in areas not in compliance with the WHO guideline.
Those living in the country's most polluted counties could expect to live up to one year longer if pollution met the WHO guideline.
Globally, the AQLI reveals that particulate pollution reduces average life expectancy by 1.8 years, making it the greatest global threat to human health.
By comparison, first-hand cigarette smoke leads to a reduction in global average life expectancy of about 1.6 years.
Other risks to human health have even smaller effects: Alcohol & drugs reduce life expectancy by 11 months; unsafe water & sanitation take off 7 months; & HIV/AIDS, 4 months.
Conflict & terrorism take off 22 days.
So, the impact of particulate pollution on life expectancy is comparable to that of smoking, twice that of alcohol & drug use, three times that of unsafe water, five times that of HIV/AIDS, & more than 25 times that of conflict and terrorism.
"While people can stop smoking & take steps to protect themselves from diseases, there is little they can individually do to protect themselves from the air they breathe," Greenstone said.
"The AQLI tells citizens and policymakers how particulate pollution is affecting them & their communities and reveals the benefits of policies to reduce particulate pollution," he said. Source Link
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