81,000 killed due to air pollution in Delhi and Mumbai in 2015

If the study at at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, is to be believed, air pollution contributed to a total of 80,665 premature deaths of adults over 30 years in Mumbai and Delhi in 2015 which is about two-fold from 1995. Also, if we talk about it in economic terms, air pollution cost the two cities $10.66 billion (approximately Rs 70,000 crore) in 2015, or about 0.71% of the country's gross domestic product.

According to the study, the impact on health and productivity as a result of exposure to pollution and the consequent burden of respiratory ailments rose with every passing decade.

The impact calculation was done using data on PM 10 (fine particulate matter measuring 10 microns), population and death rates.

With its higher pollution levels, Delhi recorded more premature deaths due to ingestion of PM10 from vehicle exhaust, construction dust and other industrial processes. Casualties went up from 19,716 in 1995 to 48,651in 2015. In Mumbai, the comparative figure rose from 19,291 to 32,014 in 20 years.

Air pollution was also responsible for 23 million cases of restricted activity days (RAD) — either less productive days or days off work for individuals — in the commercial capital in 2015. The worsening quality of air in the city also led to 64,037 emergency room visits in 2015 by those stricken by respiratory ailments, up by 35.4% from 1995. In comparison, in Delhi, there were 29 million cases of RAD and 0.12 million emergency room visits in 2015.

The study's lead author, Kamal Jyoti Maji, said the impact of air pollution on health and productivity was evident in that the increase in cases and cost after 2005 was in line with the overall trend in pollution.