Expected health benefits from mitigation of emissions from major anthropogenic PM_2.5 sources in India: Statistics at...

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is one of the leading risk factors for the mortality and morbidity burden in India. Health benefit expected from mitigation of emissions from individual sectors is the key policy information to address this issue. Here we quantify the relative shares of four major year-round anthropogenic sources to ambient PM_2.5 in India using a chemical transport model and estimate premature deaths that could have been avoided due to complete mitigation of emissions from these sources at state level. Population-weighted all-India averaged (±1σ) annual ambient PM_2.5 exposures due to residential, transport, industrial and energy sectors in 2010 are estimated to be 26.2 ± 12.5, 3.8 ± 4.3, 5.5 ± 2.7 and 2.2 ± 2.3 μg m^-3, respectively. Complete mitigation of emissions from the transport, industrial and energy sectors combined would avoid 92,380 (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 40,918-140,741) premature deaths annually, primarily at the urban hotspots. For the residential sector, this would result in avoiding 378,295 (95% UI, 175,002-575,293) premature deaths due to a reduction in ambient PM_2.5 exposure in addition to the benefit of avoiding all premature deaths from household exposure. Bihar and Goa are expected to have the largest (289) and smallest (48) premature mortality burden per 100,000 population due to anthropogenic PM_2.5 exposure. From policy perspective, controlling residential sources should be prioritized in view of the effectiveness of implementing mitigation measures and the expected larger health benefit at a regional scale. However, additional mitigation measures are advised at the urban hotspots to curb emissions from the other sectors to get maximum possible health benefit.