The Lancet Study: According to a study published in The Lancet Planetary Health Journal, more than 23.5 million people died in India in 2019 due to pollution. All the deaths were premature. This number is the highest in any country in the world. The study claims that “every kind of pollution in the world causes about 9 million deaths a year.” Deaths from air pollution caused by automobile and industrial fumes have increased by 55%. The global average of deaths from pollution is 117 per 100,000 people.

According to the research, out of these 2.3 million deaths, about 16.7 million deaths were due to air pollution and more than 500,000 deaths were due to water pollution. In addition, people have died due to other pollution. Most of the deaths due to air pollution in India were related to air pollution caused by PM2.5 particles.

How is the situation in the United States?

The United States is the only country in the top 10 in terms of pollution-related deaths that is totally dependent on industry. It ranks 7th in the world in 2019 with 1,42,883 deaths due to pollution. The United States ranks 31st from the bottom in terms of per capita mortality. Out of a population of 1,000,000, the death toll from pollution is 43.6.

The situation in other countries

Pollution killed 1.8 million people in China in 2015. In 2019, it increased to 21.7 million. Brunei, Qatar and Iceland have the lowest death rates due to pollution, between 15 and 23. The global average of deaths from pollution is 117 per 100,000 people. This report is a relief to India. The number of deaths in 2019 has decreased compared to 2015. In 2015 there were 2.5 million deaths while in 2019 there were 23.5 million deaths.