NEW DELHI: Life expectancy in India has gone down by 2.6 years due to deadly diseases caused by air pollution, according to a recent report by an environment think tank. "Air pollution is now the third highest cause of death among all health risks ranking just above smoking in India. "Due to this combined exposure, South Asians, including Indians are dying early - their life expectancy has reduced by over 2.6 years. The report said household air pollution contributes about a quarter of the outdoor air pollution in the country. Previous environment minister Harsh Vardhan earlier rejected a global report on air pollution as per which 1.2 million people died in the country due to air pollution.

Source: Mint June 11, 2019 14:48 UTC