‘India’s air pollution rivals China’s as world’s deadliest’
Source: The Hindu, Date: , 2017
The Hindu, New Delhi, Feb 2017: India’s air now rivals China’s as the world’s
deadliest, according to a new study published Tuesday amid warnings that
efforts to curb pollution from coal will not yield results any time soon.
India’s notoriously poor air quality causes nearly 1.1 million premature deaths
every year, almost on a par with China, concluded a joint report by two
U.S.-based health research institutes. But whereas deaths linked to air
pollution in China have steadied in recent years, the rate has soared in India
where smog readings in major cities routinely eclipse safe exposure levels.
India has recorded a nearly 50% increase in premature deaths linked to fine
airborne particles known as PM2.5 between 1990 and 2015, the report found.