An environmental study by a team of scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry has revealed some alarming news about the polluted state, Delhi. The study claims that in the next ten years the city will have the highest number of deaths caused by air pollution compared to any other megacity.
The survey claims that at least 32,000 deaths will occur by 2025 due to air pollution. Delhi air has the highest level of toxic particulate matter under PM2.5. Toxic particulate matter below the PM2.5 reading is considered to be the most dangerous because it can easily penetrate and damage the lungs.
Researchers also believe that another Indian city, Kolkata will have taken over as the city with the highest pollution levels by 2050 with more than 55,000 deaths from pollution.
In the same year, researchers believe that Delhi will have 52,000 deaths. Mumbai will also be on the list with about 33,100 deaths from pollution related cases. Scientists claim that the reason these cities top the list is because of the high level of toxic particles in the air.
According to the study, about 3.3 million people all over the world die prematurely due to the harmful effect of air toxins. That average might double up to 6.6 million if the effects of pollution are not reversed.
India was ranked second among the countries with the highest number of deaths caused by air pollution on an annual basis. China was ranked first with 1.4 million deaths while India had 6,45,000 air pollution-related deaths annually. Pakistan was ranked third with 1,10,000 fatalities annually.
Johannes Lelieveld stated that most of the deaths were caused by biofuel consumption mostly in residential areas. This is because the inefficient fuels usually have a lot of impurities, thus affecting people’s health especially after a long duration of exposure. Mr. Lelieveld is one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.
