SYLLABUS:

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context: Recently, the Health Effects Institute (HEI) in collaboration with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), released the sixth edition of the State of Global Air (SoGA) 2025 report, highlighting air pollution as the leading environmental health risk worldwide.

About State of Global Air (SoGA) Report 

• The State of Global Air (SoGA) report is an annual assessment that provides reliable and transparent data on global air quality and its health impacts across more than 200 countries and regions.

• The 2025 edition marks a significant development with the inclusion of dementia as a key health outcome related to air pollution, broadening the understanding of its long-term neurological impacts.

• The report reinforces that addressing air pollution provides a dual benefit of improving health outcomes and supporting climate action through emission reduction and cleaner energy transitions.

Key Highlights of 2025 Report

• Premature deaths: Air pollution contributed to 7.9 million deaths globally in 2023, making it the top environmental cause of early deathsacross countries.

• 90% of all Air Pollution related deaths were in low- and middle-income countries due to industrial emissions, urban pollution, and limited access to healthcare.

• Monitiring Mechanisms: 11% of the global population lives in areas where there are no national air quality standards.

• PM_2.5  Exposure: 36 per cent of the world’s population is exposed to PM_2.5 levels above the least stringent WHO interim target of 35 micrograms per cubic metre.

• Domestic Pollution Exposure: Around one third of the global population, nearly 2.6 billion people, remain exposed to household air pollution from burning solid fuels for cooking.

• Impact on Ageing population: 95 per cent of air pollution-related deaths among adults over 60 years are due to non-communicable diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), dementia, diabetes, heart disease, and lung disease.

• New Dementia front: Report introduces new evidence linking air pollution exposure to brain health deterioration, particularly dementia, which caused 626,000 deaths and led to the loss of 40 million healthy years of life globally in 2023.

Air Pollution and Disease Burden in India

• The findings highlight that air pollution is now driving a “silent epidemic” of chronic diseases in India, overtaking infectious diseases as the leading health threat.

• India recorded approximately two million deaths in 2023 due to air pollution-related diseases, marking a 43 per cent increase since 2000.

• Nearly 89 per cent of all air pollution-related deaths in India are linked to non-communicable diseases, including heart and lung disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia.

• Air pollution death rates in India are over ten times higher than in high-income countries, with 186 deaths per one lakh people compared to 17 in wealthier nations.

• Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and West Bengal are among the most affected states, each recording over one lakh deaths in 2023.

• 54,000 dementia-related deaths in India were linked to air pollution in 2024, posing serious challenges for the country’s ageing population.

• Deaths from household air pollution have declined due to reduced dependence on solid fuels for cooking, while deaths from ambient PM2.5 and ozone pollution have risen significantly.

• Around 75 per cent of India’s population lives in areas where PM2.5 exposure exceeds WHO’s interim air quality target, underscoring the urgent need for coordinated clean air policies.

Source: 
DowntoEarth
State of Global Air
HEI