Air Quality Life Index 2025

The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) 2025 report, released by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, identifies air pollution as India’s most severe health challenge, reducing the nation’s average life expectancy by 3.5 years. The findings reveal that the entire population of 1.4 billion people lives in areas where PM2.5 levels exceed the World Health Organization’s safe limit of 5 µg/m³, with northern India ranked as the most polluted region globally. Among the worst affected, residents of Delhi-NCR lose up to 8.2 years of life expectancy, while people in Bihar, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh face reductions of 5.6, 5.3, and 5 years, respectively. The report further stresses that air pollution poses a greater threat to public health than malnutrition, tobacco consumption, or unsafe water combined.