The study, addressing Global Mortality from Ambient PM2.5, found that more than 45% of these premature deaths in Delhi could be avoided if the city met the national ambient air quality standard for PM2.5. In fact, if the city's air could be cleaned up to the safe standards set by the World Health Organization, as much as 85% these deaths could be avoided, the experts said. Read more @ Times of India
Across India, as many as 4 lakh premature deaths per year could be prevented if the WHO standards were met. If no action is taken to bring down the current PM2.5 levels, deaths from air pollution would increase by 20% to 30% in India, the study warned.
Scientists arrived at the potential to prevent premature deaths in Delhi assuming that the annual mean PM2.5 level in Delhi was about 150 micrograms per cubic metre, about four times the national standard and 15 times the WHO guideline. The study is authored by Joshua S Apte from the University of Texas, Julian D Marshall from the University of Minnesota, Aaron J Cohen from Health Effects Institute and Michael Brauer from University of British Columbia.
Access the journal article @ Environmental Science & Technology
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