New Delhi: India is responsible for nearly 70 per cent of all global deaths linked to air pollution, according to the 2025 Global Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. The study, prepared by University College London in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), estimates that around 1.72 million people die in India each year from exposure to human-caused PM2.5 pollution, marking a 38 per cent increase since 2010. Worldwide, air pollution is blamed for about 2.5 million deaths annually.
Fossil fuels remain the leading contributor, responsible for 752,000 deaths worldwide, with coal alone linked to 394,000 fatalities, 298,000 of which are attributed to coal-fired power plants. Petrol used in road transport accounts for an additional 269,000 deaths. Wildfire-related PM2.5 pollution caused an average of 10,200 deaths annually between 2020 and 2024, marking a 28% increase compared to 2003–2012.
The report highlights the burden of household air pollution in India, which led to an average of 113 deaths per 100,000 people in 2022. Rural areas saw higher mortality rates (125) than urban centres (99). The economic cost of premature deaths from outdoor air pollution in India was estimated at $339.4 billion in 2022, equivalent to 9.5% of the country’s GDP.
Heatwave exposure also surged, with Indians facing 50% more heatwave days in 2024, amounting to an average of 366 additional hours of heat stress. This resulted in a loss of 419 labour hours per person per year, a 124% increase compared to the 1990s, and an estimated income loss of $194 billion.
The report further notes a 138% rise in land area experiencing at least one month of extreme drought annually, increasing from 14.1% during 1951–1960 to 2015–2024. Rising heat stress has also intensified the spread of climate-sensitive diseases. The basic reproduction number for dengue transmitted by Aedes albopictus mosquitoes has doubled over seven decades, while Vibrio infections in coastal regions are 46% higher than the 1982–2010 baseline.