23.5 lakh premature deaths in India due to pollution in 2019: Lancet

India saw over 23.5 lakh premature deaths due to pollution of all types -- including 16.7 lakh fatalities caused by air pollution -- in 2019, the highest among all countries globally, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.

The majority of air pollution related deaths -- 9.8 lakh -- in India were caused by ambient PM2.5 pollution -- tiny pollution particles in the air that are two and one half microns or less in width, the researchers said.

Another 6.1 lakh were due to household air pollution, they said.

According to the study, burning of biomass in households was the single largest cause of air pollution deaths in India, followed by coal combustion and crop burning.

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Globally, pollution of any kind was responsible for nine million deaths in 2019 -- equivalent to one in six deaths worldwide.

Air pollution -- both household and ambient -- was responsible for the greatest number of deaths at 6.67 million worldwide.