Over 120,000 people died in India (at least 12,000 in Bengaluru alone) in 2020 as a result of air pollution and related problems, according to the Greenpeace Southeast Asia Analysis of IQAir data. The report also stated that air pollution caused economic damages to the tune of ₹2 lakh crore in India, including about ₹12,365 crore in Bengaluru.
The report titled “Greenpeace: Cost to Economy Due to Air Pollution Analysis 2021” was released by Greenpeace, a global climate action advisory group, on Thursday.
“The cost estimator also estimated air pollution-related economic losses to be about ₹1,23,65,15,40,000 in six Indian cities. The damage is equally worrying in other Indian cities. An estimated 25,000 avoidable deaths in Mumbai in 2020 have been attributed to air pollution. Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi estimated an approximate 12,000, 11,000, 11,000, and 54,000 avoidable deaths respectively due to polluted air,” Greenpeace said in a statement on Thursday.
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A cost estimator is an online tool that tracks the real-time health impact and economic costs of air pollution in major world cities, Greenpeace said.
Indian urban centres are becoming increasingly congested due to migration for education, employment and better quality of life. But the increasing population has led to a rise in pollution levels due to the use of private cars, felling of trees to widen roads, construction of new housing and public infrastructure to accommodate migrant workers—both white and blue collar.
{{/usCountry}}Indian urban centres are becoming increasingly congested due to migration for education, employment and better quality of life. But the increasing population has led to a rise in pollution levels due to the use of private cars, felling of trees to widen roads, construction of new housing and public infrastructure to accommodate migrant workers—both white and blue collar.
{{/usCountry}}Bengaluru has 9.4 million vehicles in an area of just around 820 square kilometres.
Vehicular pollution is the single biggest reason for deteriorating air quality in India’s IT capital, followed by construction and other reasons, according to the government.
While the Covid-19-induced lockdown brought some reprieve to the environment, lifting of restrictions has hastened the deteriorating quality of air, water and overall quality of life.
“Despite recording relatively better air quality this year due to strict lockdown, air pollution continues to be a serious public health issue which also drastically impacts our economy. For the governments of the day, it is crucial that investments are made towards green and sustainable solutions. When we choose fossil fuel over clean energy, our health is put at stake. Polluted air increases the likelihood of deaths due to cancer & stroke, spike in asthma attacks and worsens severity of Covid-19 symptoms,” Avinash Chanchal, climate campaigner, Greenpeace India, said in a statement.
Air pollution claimed 160,000 deaths globally in 2020, according to the report.