Air pollution could reduce the life of Indians by nine years: Report

India is one of the most polluted countries in the world, with more than 40 per cent of its population living in the Indo-Gangetic plains in the north where pollution levels regularly exceed those found anywhere else in the world by an order of magnitude, stated the University of Chicago's Air Quality Life Index report. Air pollution is likely to reduce the life expectancy of about 40 per cent of Indians by more than nine years, the US research group said in a study. "South Asia is consistently the most polluted region, with the people there seeing their lives shortened by an average of 5 years relative to what it would be if the region met the WHO guideline and even more in the most polluted parts of the region like northern India," the report said.