Assessment of health risks for criteria air pollutants present in 11 non-attainment cities of Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Abstract Uttar Pradesh (UP), one of the most populous state of India is facing the highest mortality rate due to ambient air exposure. In this study, the Relative Risk (RR) and Excess Risk (ER) due to six criteria air pollutants namely PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, O3, and CO have been estimated for 11 non-attainment cities (NAC) of this State. Results indicated that the estimated total ER was 2.62 times higher when calculated using WHO 2021 Air Quality standards (AQS) and compared with estimates using India’s CPCB 2009 AQS. Ghaziabad faces the highest ERs for both PM10 (6.20%) and PM2.5 (3.9%) as per WHO 2021 AQS. ER due to NO2 was observed highest for Kanpur. The ERs obtained for CO, SO2, and O3 were found negative mainly because the estimated pollutant concentration was observed less than AQS and therefore possess no health risks. The study concludes that the present AQS of India’s CPCB for air pollutants PM10, PM2.5, and NO2 are underestimating the excess health risks and need to be revised urgently for better action plans in saving lives. Graphical Abstract HIGHLIGHTS PM10 followed by PM2.5 are the major contributors to air pollution in almost all the 11 NAC of UP. Ghaziabad has the highest total ER among the 11 NAC. Aggregated ER was 2.62 times higher when estimated using WHO 2021 AQS than CPCB 2009 AQS CPCB 2009 AQS underestimate the health risks posed by PM10, PM2.5, and NO2. The study shows an urgent need to revise India’s CPCB air quality standards.