Study finds that India's polluted air is cutting 660 million lives short

India pollution
(Image credit: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

More than half of India's population may be facing a shortened life expectancy due to filthy air, a new study reported by The Associated Press says.

The findings, published on Saturday in the journal Economic & Political Weekly, used a previous study on China's air pollution, in which the authors determined that life expectancy dropped by three years for every 100 micrograms of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, recorded above safe levels. In India, the authors found that 660 million people were breathing in unsafe levels of PM2.5, and losing at least 3.2 years of their lives as a result.

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Sarah Eberspacher

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.