If you live in Delhi, then you should know that the city’s pollution is silently stealing more than eight years from your life. That’s the stark warning from a new analysis by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). The 2025 report examines pollution data from 2023, when the capital’s annual average of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), the most dangerous pollutant was measured at a staggering 88.4 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³).
Life Expectancy At Risk Amidst Delhi Pollution
To put that number in perspective: the World Health Organization (WHO) considers anything above 5 µg/m³ unsafe. According to Hindustan Times, Delhi’s air is over 17 times dirtier, thanks to the air pollution in the city. Meeting that benchmark could give residents back more than eight healthy years. Even hitting India’s own softer target of 40 µg/m³ would restore nearly five years of life expectancy, the report stated.
The damage of air pollution extends far beyond Delhi. Nationwide, an average Indian is losing 3.5 years of life, with the country’s PM 2.5 levels averaging 41 µg/m³ in 2023. And the situation is worsening, as global pollution levels rose 1.5% from 2022 to 2023, according to satellite data cited in the study.
Indian Northern Plains Emerge As World’s Most Polluted Hotspot
Tanushree Ganguly, director of EPIC’s Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) and co-author of the report iterated that due to air pollution in Delhi, data over the past five years suggest residents could lose up to eight years of life. She added that cutting particulate levels in the capital by more than half is the bare minimum needed to meet India’s standards. According to her, roughly 50% of Delhi’s pollution comes from local sources, and controlling those alone could help the city meet its own targets.
The report paints a grim picture for the northern plains, which stretch across Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Bihar. Together, these states and Delhi are home to 544 million people. If today’s pollution levels continue, life expectancy will shrink by 5.4 years in Bihar, 5.3 years in Haryana, and 5 years in Uttar Pradesh, making this belt of the country the most severely impacted on Earth, as stated by Hindustan Times.
Globally, the average person loses 1.9 years of life to dirty air. In India, even the so-called “clean” regions aren’t clean enough: meeting WHO standards there would still add almost nine and a half months of life expectancy.
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EPIC’s conclusion is clear–1.4 billion Indians breathe air that exceeds WHO limits, and nearly half live in areas where even India’s weaker standard is violated. For people in the Capital, already grappling with yearly bouts of Delhi pollution, this isn’t an abstract statistic but a reminder that every breath is shaving years off their lives.
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