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Pollution in India shortens the lives of 660 million people

The accelerated economic growth experienced by emerging countries, such as India or China, comes at a high price. At the level of atmospheric pollution , the situation is so serious in both that for years all the alarms have been raised and investigations continue to be carried out to verify to what extent the pollution is affecting the health of its inhabitants.

While it is true that China has become the planet’s environmental problem, especially its capital, Beijing, increasingly unbreathable, the truth is that India is not lagging behind. In this AgroCorrn article, we will address the issue of pollution in India and its consequences.

You may also be interested in: Types of air pollution
Index
  1. New Delhi, the most polluted
  2. Shorter life
  3. Die from contamination
  4. Image from section 2

New Delhi, the most polluted

Although China has the most polluted cities, India is also terribly polluted and, in fact, its capital, New Delhi, has the most polluted air in the world as a result of a dense emog that breaks records for toxicity. Specifically, in 2014 it became even more harmful than what is breathed in Beijing.

Shorter life

Furthermore, we now have a study that has drawn shocking conclusions. American scientists have found that air pollution in India is reducing an average of three years (3.2, exactly) the lives of 660 million people. Therefore, it is not only suffered by people who live in cities, but also by those who reside in rural areas.

In this way, it can be affirmed that more than half of the Indian population is seriously affected , apart from the millions of deaths that are due to this same cause. And, in general, practically the 1.2 billion inhabitants of the country breathe in environments with harmful levels of pollution, indicates the same study.

The new study highlights that the origin of the problem is none other than negligence on the part of the country’s authorities, more focused on industrial growth than on preventing pollution levels from soaring, as has happened in recent years. Not just in New Delhi, but nationwide, with the catastrophic result that 13 Indian cities are in the top 20 of the most polluted in the world, according to the World Health Organization.

These premature deaths are also the consequence of typical problems of underdevelopment. While the country grows at dizzying rates, the social situation continues to be dramatic for many people, mired in poverty, without access to basic resources. In particular, using kerosene lamps due to lack of electricity is a major source of pollution that impairs people’s health.

Die from contamination

Losing an average of 3.2 years of life, logically, means losing many more years for some than for others. It is a statistical figure, which helps to shed light on the tremendous public health problem posed by pollution. Together, those wasted years add up to a brutal 2.1 billion years.

Shortening a life means, in many cases, dying as a result of diseases caused by pollution, such as cancers or respiratory problems , and in other cases by complications in people with diseases of another type or fragile due to having suffered some pathology or simply by age or malnutrition.

In 2013, NASA created a map where you can visualize the most polluted places in the world, those where it is most likely to die from this cause, including China, India, Indonesia and Europe.

And in the future, will India improve its situation? Although the country is taking steps in the right direction, expanding its green energy production, with investments in solar and wind energy, there are still no laws that control the pollution levels of chemicals as harmful as sulfur dioxide or mercury.

Image from section 2

If you want to read more articles similar to Pollution in India shortens the lives of 660 million people , we recommend that you enter our Pollution category .

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Hello, I am a blogger specialized in environmental, health and scientific dissemination issues in general. The best way to define myself as a blogger is by reading my texts, so I encourage you to do so. Above all, if you are interested in staying up to date and reflecting on these issues, both on a practical and informative level.

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