The University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute (EPIC) Tuesday said in its latest Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) that increasing air pollution in Pakistan may shorten life expectancy by at least seven years in the country’s most polluted regions like Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur and Peshawar.
Particulate pollution is the second greatest threat to human health in Pakistan (behind cardiovascular diseases), reducing 3.9 years of life expectancy on average in Pakistan, according to the AQLI — a pollution index that translates particulate air pollution into its impact on life expectancy.
The study however suggested that If Pakistan meets the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines of limiting average annual PM 2.5 concentration to 5 micrograms per cubic meter, the average resident in the country could gain 3.9 years.
