India’s 1.4 billion population lives in areas where the annual average of particulate pollution exceeds the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. A new report states this.
The report says that if India’s air quality were to meet global standards, people living in the country’s cleanest air regions could live an average of 9.4 months longer.
According to the 2025 Air Quality Report, the concentration level of PM 2.5 particles in India in 2023 was higher than in 2022.
The report states that this level was eight times higher than WHO guidelines, and permanently bringing it in line with the global standard could increase the average life expectancy of Indians by 3.5 years.
According to WHO’s 2021 air quality guidelines, the annual average concentration of PM 2.5 should be 5 micrograms per cubic meter, while for PM 10 this level is set at 15 micrograms per cubic meter.
These limits are far stricter than India’s own existing standards, which set the annual average concentration for PM 2.5 at 40 micrograms and for PM 10 at 60 micrograms.
The report states that 46 percent of India’s population lives in areas where the annual average level of PM 2.5 exceeds the national standard of 40 micrograms per cubic meter.
It says that reducing the annual average level of PM 2.5 in these areas to meet the national standard could increase the life expectancy of people here by 1.5 years.
According to the report, if particulate concentrations in India’s most polluted northern plains regions were to meet WHO guidelines, the average life expectancy of 544.4 million people, or 38.9 percent of the country’s population, could increase by up to five years.
The report claims that if particulate pollution levels across India were reduced in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines, residents of the national capital and most populous city, Delhi, would benefit the most, with their average life expectancy increasing by up to 8.2 years.
According to the report, besides Delhi and the northern plains regions, the health of people in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra is most affected by particulate pollution.
It states that if particulate pollution levels in these states are reduced to meet WHO guidelines, the average life expectancy there could increase by 3.3 years, 3.1 years, and 2.8 years, respectively.
India launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019, which set a target to reduce particulate pollution levels by 20 to 30 percent by 2024 compared to 2017. In 2022, the government revised this target, aiming for a 40 percent reduction in 131 non-attainment cities by 2026.
If this target is achieved, the average life expectancy of residents in these cities could increase by two years compared to 2017.
The report states that in 2023, air pollution levels in districts with non-attainment cities decreased by 10.7 percent compared to 2017, increasing the average life expectancy of 445.5 million people by six months.
