Burden of Disease Attributable to Major Air Pollution Sources in India

Special Report 21, Burden of Disease Attributable to Major Air Pollution Sources in India, provides the first comprehensive analysis of the levels of fine particulate matter air pollution (PM_2.5) in India by source at the state level and their impact on health. It is the result of the Global Burden of Disease from Major Air Pollution Sources (GBD MAPS) project, an international collaboration of the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay), HEI, and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (Seattle, WA). The analysis reports that air pollution exposure contributed to some 1.1 million deaths in India in 2015. Household burning emissions (contributing to outdoor air) and coal combustion are the single largest sources of air pollution-related health impact, with emissions from agricultural burning, anthropogenic dusts, transport, other diesel, and brick kilns also contributing significantly. Using three different scenarios projecting out to the year 2050, the study identifies in detail the challenges posed by the many sources of air pollution in India, but also highlights the significant progress that can be made.

Note: Text was amended on pages 6 and 14 of the main report and on page 8 of the Summary for Policy Makers. Those changes can be viewed by selecting HEI Special Report 21 erratum page 6, page 14, and Summary page 8 posted below (changes highlighted in yellow).

A workshop was held in Delhi, India to present the report in January 2018. A workshop agenda and presentations are available here.