WHO announced: Human life expectancy could be extended by 3 years!

The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) report published by the University of Chicago Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) analyzed the effects of air pollution on human lifespan. In the report, it was stated that if all countries meet WHO's air pollution standards, the average human lifespan could be extended by 2.3 years; this could add 17.8 billion life years to the world population.

Emphasizing that air pollution continues to be the biggest external threat to human life, the report stated that it causes the most deaths in South Asia. In the report, it was pointed out that the continuation of the current level of pollution in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan could reduce human life expectancy in these countries by an average of 5 years.

59 PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S POLLUTION INCREASE IS CAUSED BY INDIA The report said that India alone accounted for 59 percent of the world's pollution increase since 2013. It was noted that if air pollution in New Delhi meets WHO's annual standards, Delhi residents could live 11.9 years longer on average. It was stated that China, which has six times more pollution than the limit set by WHO, has reduced air pollution by 42.3 percent since 2013, thus enabling its citizens to live 2.2 years longer.

On the other hand, the report stated that the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and the Republic of the Congo, which are among the 10 countries with the highest air pollution in the world, pointed out that there is no infrastructure to combat air pollution in many parts of Asia and Africa.

It was stated that compared to 1970, when the Clean Air Act was enacted in the USA, air pollution has decreased by 64.9 percent today; for this reason, the average life expectancy in the country has increased by 1.4 years. In Europe, where there is 23.5 percent less air pollution compared to 1998, the average life expectancy has increased by about 4.5 months. AQLI founder Professor Michael Greenstone emphasized that three-quarters of the impact of air pollution on life expectancy in the world is caused by Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China, Nigeria and Indonesia. Greenstone noted that the air that people in these six countries breathe steals more than 1 to 6 years from their lives.