Lives at stake

Poor air quality is a public policy failure

The findings of the air quality life index study, conducted by the Energy Policy Institute, University of Chicago, would come as no surprise to Indians but should provoke introspection from governments at the Centre and the states. The fact that India’s entire population lives in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the World Health Organization (WHO) limit of 5 micrograms per cubic metre (ugm3) points to a collective leadership failure to address a key health issue. Delhi figures again as the world’s most polluted city, which, the study says, takes almost 12 years off the life of