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The Mortality and Economic Benefits of Achieving Air Pollution Standards in India

In India, over 70% of the population was exposed to annual ambient PM₂.₅ that exceeded the Indian standard and 56% of households burned solid fuels for cooking in 2019.  Policies to reduce PM₂.₅ yield health and economic benefits. We estimate the mortality benefits of:

  1. Reducing annual ambient PM₂.₅ (AAP) to the India standard and two WHO interim standards. 

  2. Pairing each ambient standard with a 50% reduction in the household air pollution (HAP).

What did we do?
Agricultural crop burning resulting in ambient particulate matter pollution

  1. Achieving air pollution standards in India could yield substantial  mortality and economic benefits; Benefits vary across states due to varying levels of AAP and HAP (among other factors), with more than 90% of the benefits being concentrated in 12 states.​

  2. Combining AAP and HAP policies yields benefits that exceed the sum of reductions from implementing separate policies. This is because reductions in mortality increase as total exposure to PM₂.₅ is reduced.

What did we find?
Indoor cookstove use resulting in household particulate matter pollution
What are the implications / impacts?

  1. Considering datasets, functions, and methods that are relevant to the local context are important. In the Indian context, it is important to consider total exposures (AAP+HAP) when considering the impacts of achieving AAP standards since:

    • Mortality impacts are driven by total exposures to PM₂.₅. 

    • Mortality risks do not increase proportionately with PM₂.₅. 

  2. Implementing combined AAP + HAP policies would yield synergistic benefits and potentially increase returns on investment.

Children in Dust
Children exposed to road dust and vehicular air pollution

The Mortality and Economic Benefits of Achieving Air Pollution Standards in India

Agricultural crop burning resulting in ambient particulate matter pollution

In India, over 70% of the population was exposed to annual ambient PM₂.₅ that exceeded the Indian standard and 56% of households burned solid fuels for cooking in 2019.  Policies to reduce PM₂.₅ yield health and economic benefits. We estimate the mortality benefits of:

  1. Reducing annual ambient PM₂.₅ (AAP) to the India standard and two WHO interim standards. 

  2. Pairing each ambient standard with a 50% reduction in the household air pollution (HAP).

What did we do?

  1. Achieving air pollution standards in India could yield substantial  mortality and economic benefits; Benefits vary across states due to varying levels of AAP and HAP (among other factors), with more than 90% of the benefits being concentrated in 12 states​.

  2. Combining AAP and HAP policies yields benefits that exceed the sum of reductions from implementing separate policies. This is because reductions in mortality increase as total exposure to PM₂.₅ is reduced.

What did we find?
What are the implications?

  1. Considering datasets, functions, and methods that are relevant to the local context are important. In the Indian context, it is important to consider total exposures (AAP+HAP) when considering the impacts of achieving AAP standards since:

    1. Mortality impacts are driven by total PM₂.₅ exposures. 

    2. Mortality risks do not increase proportionately with PM₂.₅.

  2. Implementing combined AAP + HAP policies would yield synergistic benefits and potentially increase returns on investment.

Indoor cookstove use resulting in household particulate matter pollution
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