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Air pollution is not only the biggest killer in India but also significantly impacts its economy, a new global report has confirmed.
The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, an international and multidisciplinary collaboration dedicated to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change, released the report at 5.30 am on October 29, 2025.
More than 1.7 million people died in India during 2022 from exposure to PM 2.5, the ultra-fine particulate pollutant, according to The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change that works in close coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO).
The figure shows a sharp increase compared to the values registered twelve years back.
The Union environment, forest and climate change ministry had rebutted the high air pollution- linked figure in an October 26 social media post in the context of another global report released a few days back: “ …The reported figure of 2 million deaths linked to air pollution … is not based on actual records but derived using statistical modeling techniques (that) had its own limitations…”. The State of Global Air 2025 reported 2 million air pollution related deaths in India during 2023.
The Lancet report, a document prepared by 128 experts from 71 academic institutions and UN agencies, has also found that every Indian, on average, had faced nearly 20 days of heat waves during 2024. About one-third of these could be attributed directly to climate change.
“We have prepared a separate sheet for India, which is significantly affected,” responded Mariana Romanello, an executive director of Lancet Countdown and a lead author of the report, to this correspondent when asked about the situation in India.
The India-specific report of Lancet highlights the impact of fossil fuel burning in India. “There were over 1,718,000 deaths attributable to anthropogenic air pollution (PM 2.5) in 2022 in India, an increase of 38% since 2010,” read the report, a copy of which is with this correspondent.
It further pointed out that “…Fossil fuels (coal and liquid gas) contributed to 752,000 (44%) of these deaths in 2022, while coal accounted for 394,000 deaths, primarily from its use in power plants (298,000 deaths),” adding that “…use of petrol for road transportation contributed to 269,000”.
The report found that burning of fossil fuels, particularly in thermal power plants and running of millions of vehicles in the country, played a key role in triggering the death march from air pollution.
“The number of air pollution-linked deaths in 2022 was much more than the total number of COVID-linked deaths; underlining the enormity of the situation and cost of human health linked to air pollution,” observed Arup Haldar, a city-based pulmonologist.
The report also pointed out that “… In 2022, the monetised value of premature mortality due to outdoor air pollution in India amounted to USD 339.4 billion (nearly Rs 30 lakh crore), the equivalent of 9.5 percent of gross domestic product”. Incidentally, while the climate change-linked threat is on the rise, India’s preparedness for the low-carbon transition got decreased marginally in 2024 compared to the year before.
Indoor air pollution also contributes significantly to the death scare from fossil fuel burning, the report showed. “In 2022, household air pollution due to the use of polluting fuels in India was associated with 113 deaths per 100,000. Mortality rates associated with household air pollution were higher in rural than urban areas (125 per 100,000 in rural and 99 per 100,000 in urban),” added the report.
“Evidence is growing stronger indicating diverse and multiple health impacts of air pollution. Most of the deaths are associated with non-communicable diseases like heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes, and even dementia. This suggests growing risk for India’s ageing population and calls for urgent integration of clean air strategies with health and development planning,” observed Anumita Roychowdhury, an executive director with the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and a frontline air pollution expert.
In 2024, people in India were exposed to 19.8 heatwave days each, on average. Of these, 6.6 days of exposure would not have been expected to occur without climate change, according to the report.
“Compared to 1990-1999, in 2024, people were exposed on average to 366 more hours during which ambient heat would have posed a moderate or higher risk of heat stress if undertaking moderate outdoor physical activity,” stated the report.
It added that “for 2024, heat exposure resulted in a loss of 247 billion potential labour hours per year, a record high (of) 419 h per person, and 124% more than in 1990-1999”. The agriculture sector accounted for 66 per cent, and the construction sector accounted for 20 per cent of losses in 2024. The associated potential income lost from labour capacity reduction due to extreme heat was $373 million in 2024.
The report also pointed out that the number of dengue cases in the country has almost doubled during the last decade compared to six decades earlier. During the last year, “over 18 million people were living less than 1 m above sea level in India, and therefore at risk from sea level rise”.
The Lancet study also found that “between 2001 and 2023, India lost a cumulative total of 2.33 million hectares of tree cover, of which 143,000 were lost only in 2023.” Urban greenness in the country has decreased 3.6 per cent during the last decade, it added.
Of the 189 most populous cities in India, having more than 500,000 habitants, 14 had exceptionally low levels of urban greenness, 110 had very low levels, 42 had low levels, and 22 had moderate levels. Only Tamluk in West Bengal was classified as having high levels of urban greenness.