Assessing Health Risks Associated with Air Pollution in India

Abstract

The objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the health impacts of air pollution on residents in the major urban areas throughout India, which includes the city of Hyderabad, Chennai, India, Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi, and Bangalore. The research used the AirQ 2.2.3 software produced by the Bilthoven European Centre of Environmental and Health, a division of the World Health Organization (also known as the "WHO") that is officially supported by the WHO. The levels of primary pollutants, such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, & particulate matter with aerodynamic sizes less than 10 μm (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and O3), were crucial indicators for assessing human exposure and health impacts. The review aimed at identifying the percentage of health outcomes that may be linked to lung cancer and to calculate the number of additional deaths caused by lung cancer each year. The findings demonstrate a substantial health burden associated with pollutants in the air in the examined Indian cities, emphasizing the pressing need for prompt and efficient actions to mitigate the negative health effects. This study investigates the relationship between the AQI (Air Quality Index) and the presence of PM10, NO2, O3, and PM2.5 pollutants. Strong positive associations were observed for AQI with PM10, NO2, and O3, indicating notable relationships. However, while AQI displayed a robust correlation with PM2.5, the significance of this association was inconclusive. This study underscores substantial connections between AQI and PM10, NO2, and O3, suggesting caution in inferring a direct relationship between AQI and PM2.5's relative risk without further investigation.