The COVID19 pandemic, which has claimed more than 450,000 Indians lives so far, has also led to a drop in life expectancy by at least two years. This was revealed in a study conducted by the Mumbai-based International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS).

For men, the life expectancy at birth has reduced from 69.5 years in 2019 to 67.5 years in 2020. While for women, the life expectancy has reduced from 72 years to 69.8 years in the same period.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has negative repercussions on life expectancy and inequality in age at death and has slowed the mortality transition in India,” reads the report published in BMC public health journal on October 21.

The life expectancy at birth is calculated on the basis of the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of the birth of the infant remain constant in future. 

The report further pointed out that the 35-79 age group had excess deaths caused by coronavirus in 2020 as compared to normal years. This group has contributed immensely to the drop.

Air pollution — a silent killer

Another report published last month on September 1, pointed out that the people in India are expected to lose 5.9 years of their lives due to  breathing polluted air. 

Over 510 million residents of northern India, including those in Delhi and Kolkata, are expected to lose 8.5 years of life expectancy on an average. In Delhi, it is estimated that due to air pollution people’s lifespan is being reduced by 9.7 years.

The report was released by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) on Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) — a pollution index that translates particulate air pollution into its impact on life expectancy.

Also Read: ‘Air pollution shortening lives by about 10 years in Delhi and UP’