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DON’T take a deep breath. Air pollution in India is robbing its citizens of an estimated 2.1 billion years of life collectively.

, according to the World Health Organization. To gauge its impact, at the University of Chicago compared levels of fine particulates across India and used a model to convert those levels into the number of years of life lost. He found 55 per cent of Indians – or 660 million people by the 2011 census – live in areas with dangerous levels of particulates. These people can expect a 3.2 year cut to their lifespans – a total of 2.1 billion years.

While the number of years of life lost to air pollution is higher in China – – China has started to do something about it, says of the University of Texas in Austin. “China is ahead of India in terms of formulating local and national-level policies to tackle pollution.”

The US government is hoping that installing particulate monitors on the roof of its New Delhi embassy will encourage the Indian government to act. It claims this worked in Beijing, where the US has been measuring air quality since 2008. The move is part of a .

This article appeared in print under the headline “India’s pollution toll – in life years”