Health and economic effects of air pollution in the USA and India: A comparative study of two nations' breath

Arvind Goswami; Harmanpreet Singh Kapoor; Ankita Sharma; Vivek Jadhav; Rajesh Kumar Jangir; Vijay Kumar Chattu; Arvind Goswami; Harmanpreet Singh Kapoor; Ankita Sharma; Vivek Jadhav; Rajesh Kumar Jangir; Vijay Kumar Chattu

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2025044

AIMS Public Health

2025, Volume 12, Issue 3: 875-889. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2025044

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Research article

Health and economic effects of air pollution in the USA and India: A comparative study of two nations' breath

1.
Department of Economic Studies, Central University of Punjab, Ghudda (Bathinda), 151401, India
2.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Central University of Punjab, Ghudda (Bathinda), 151401, India
3.
Independent Consultant, PhD Health Economics, Manipal University Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
4.
Department of Economic Environment and Policy, Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad-201001, India
5.
Center for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
6.
Department of Public Health, Health Administration & Information and Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37203, USA
7.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Semey Medical University, Semey, 071400, Kazakhstan
8.
Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences (DMIMS), Wardha 442107, India

Received: 16 May 2025 Revised: 03 August 2025 Accepted: 19 August 2025 Published: 05 September 2025

Background
Air pollution is a leading cause of premature deaths in developing countries compared to developed countries. We aimed to analyze and compare the economic loss due to premature deaths caused by air pollution in the USA and India.
Methods
Data on household and ambient air pollution, mortality, population, and GDP were collected from the WHO Global Health Observatory, the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study, and World Development Indicators. The economic loss of premature deaths caused by air pollution were assessed for 2019 in India and the USA by calculating the adjusted labor output per worker, factoring in the likelihood of a person being employed. However, reported mortality cases of air pollution can be less than the actual cases, so the actual loss can be greater than that calculated in this study.
Results
The findings showed that in 2019, the total economic loss due to premature deaths caused by air pollution was $34.85 billion and $24.76 billion in India and the USA, respectively. In 2019, India and the USA lost around 1.67 million and 100,000 lives because of air pollution, respectively. However, the per capita loss amounted to $20,868 for India and $247,600 for the USA, highlighting the stark disparity in the per capita income. Despite significant socioeconomic variations, ambient air pollution is the leading cause of total premature deaths from air pollution, accounting for 58% and 80% in India and the USA, respectively.
Conclusions
Air pollution is rising in India and decreasing in the USA. The United States has implemented stringent laws and regulations, such as the Clean Air Act, to control air pollution, and India should benefit from this example. Moreover, monitoring the ground-level situation is important to reduce air pollution and associated fatalities.
- air pollution,
- mortality,
- cancers,
- heart diseases,
- health economics,
- economic loss,
- USA,
- India
Citation: Arvind Goswami, Harmanpreet Singh Kapoor, Ankita Sharma, Vivek Jadhav, Rajesh Kumar Jangir, Vijay Kumar Chattu. Health and economic effects of air pollution in the USA and India: A comparative study of two nations' breath[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2025, 12(3): 875-889. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2025044

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Abstract

Background

Air pollution is a leading cause of premature deaths in developing countries compared to developed countries. We aimed to analyze and compare the economic loss due to premature deaths caused by air pollution in the USA and India.

Methods

Data on household and ambient air pollution, mortality, population, and GDP were collected from the WHO Global Health Observatory, the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study, and World Development Indicators. The economic loss of premature deaths caused by air pollution were assessed for 2019 in India and the USA by calculating the adjusted labor output per worker, factoring in the likelihood of a person being employed. However, reported mortality cases of air pollution can be less than the actual cases, so the actual loss can be greater than that calculated in this study.

Results

The findings showed that in 2019, the total economic loss due to premature deaths caused by air pollution was $34.85 billion and $24.76 billion in India and the USA, respectively. In 2019, India and the USA lost around 1.67 million and 100,000 lives because of air pollution, respectively. However, the per capita loss amounted to $20,868 for India and $247,600 for the USA, highlighting the stark disparity in the per capita income. Despite significant socioeconomic variations, ambient air pollution is the leading cause of total premature deaths from air pollution, accounting for 58% and 80% in India and the USA, respectively.

Conclusions

Air pollution is rising in India and decreasing in the USA. The United States has implemented stringent laws and regulations, such as the Clean Air Act, to control air pollution, and India should benefit from this example. Moreover, monitoring the ground-level situation is important to reduce air pollution and associated fatalities.

Authors' contributions

Conceptualization, A.G.; methodology, A.G. and H.S.K.; software, A.G., and H.S.K.; validation, A.G., A.S., and R.K.J.; formal analysis, A.S., A.G., V.J and H.S.K.; investigation, A.G. and A.S.; resources, R.K.J. and A.G.; data curation, A.G., H.S.K. and V.J; writing—original draft preparation, A.G., H.S.K., and A.S.; writing review and editing, A.G. and V.K.C; supervision, R.K.J. and V.K.C; project administration, R.K.J. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

Vijay Kumar Chattu is an editorial board member for AIMS Public Health. He was not involved in the editorial review or the decision to publish this article. All authors declare that there are no competing interests.

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