Human caused air pollution exposure in India
India: Human caused air pollution exposure was 40.76 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
40.76
Change on year
down 6.1%
World rank
5th
of 240 countries
All-time high
54.76
in 2016
All-time low
28
in 1998
Years of data
27
1998–2024
Human caused air pollution exposure in India, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
India recorded 40.76 for human caused air pollution exposure in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.1% on the previous year and down 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, human caused air pollution exposure in India peaked at 54.76 in 2016 and was at its lowest, 28, in 1998.
India ranks 5th of 240 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 27 years of available data.
Human caused air pollution exposure in India, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 28 | — |
| 1999 | 28.48 | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 32.37 | +13.7% |
| 2001 | 34.91 | +7.8% |
| 2002 | 34.85 | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 37.46 | +7.5% |
| 2004 | 37.65 | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 38.17 | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 40.23 | +5.4% |
| 2007 | 42.06 | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 45.69 | +8.6% |
| 2009 | 45.28 | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 45.65 | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 48.62 | +6.5% |
| 2012 | 45.96 | -5.5% |
| 2013 | 47.27 | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 46.56 | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 51.63 | +10.9% |
| 2016 | 54.76 | +6.1% |
| 2017 | 53.04 | -3.1% |
| 2018 | 51.31 | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 48.85 | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 44.67 | -8.6% |
| 2021 | 48 | +7.5% |
| 2022 | 44.33 | -7.6% |
| 2023 | 43.4 | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 40.76 | -6.1% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 40.76 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 20.17, 2.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- India's 40.76 is above the median for South Asia, which is 31.32, 1.3× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 28.24 | 28 | 28.48 | 2 |
| 2000s | 38.87 | 32.37 | 45.69 | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.36 | 45.65 | 54.76 | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.23 | 40.76 | 48 | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Grazing land use over the long-term, annual growth rate 0.3669 % change on previous year (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per unit of GDP 0 hectares per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per capita 0.0072 hectares per person (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Grazing land use over the long-term, per square kilometre 3.51 hectares per square kilometre (2024)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is human caused air pollution exposure in India?
- Human caused air pollution exposure in India was 40.76 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 54.76 in 2016.
- What is the lowest human caused air pollution exposure recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 28 in 1998.
- How does India rank for human caused air pollution exposure?
- India ranks 5th out of 240 countries with data for 2024.
- Is human caused air pollution exposure rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Human caused air pollution exposure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).