The report, which was released on Saturday, stated that 1.67 million Indians died due to air pollution in 2019 as per the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 on health and economic impact of air pollution in the states of India.

Punjab reported as many as 41,090 deaths attributable to air pollution, which is 18.8% of the total fatalities, in 2019, revealed the Down to Earth and Centre for Science and Environment’s annual report titled “State of India’s Environment 2021”.

The report, which was released on Saturday, stated that 1.67 million Indians died due to air pollution in 2019 as per the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 on health and economic impact of air pollution in the states of India. Half of these deaths were in just five states including Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan.

In Punjab, 1,148 million US dollars (1.49% state GDP) economic loss was ascribed to air pollution. “As many as 34,119 deaths (19% of total deaths) were attributable to air pollution range in Haryana in the year while the state pegged 1,566 million US dollars economic loss due to air pollution,” the report said.

The report mentioned that two Punjab industrial clusters, including Jalandhar and Batala, were among 33 of the 88 clusters of the country where air quality evaluated in 2009 had worsened by 2018. In 2009, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) developed the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) to identify problematic industrial areas in the country. In the 2009 CEPI study, a total of 88 industrial clusters were identified as polluted industrial areas (PIAS) by CPCB and state PPCB.”

Rising air pollution led to 41,090 deaths in Punjab in 2019: Report | Hindustan Times