Interactive | Air quality levels: How many 'cigarettes' do Indians 'smoke'?
At an AQI of 978, Delhi's air pollution is equivalent to each of its residents smoking over 40 cigarettes in just one day; what's the status in your state?
With the air quality breaching the 'severe plus' category in Delhi and neighbouring areas, and hitting the season's worst levels on Monday (November 18), doctors have raised concerns about its health risks. The toxic air can harm not just vulnerable groups but also healthy individuals, say health experts.
Air quality is often measured in terms of how much cigarette-smoking it is equivalent to.
The latest data reveal that Delhi had the worst air quality today, at an AQI of 978. It's so bad that it is equivalent to smoking over 40 cigarettes in just one day. If you are in Haryana, breathing air is similar to smoking 29 cigarettes in a day.
For India, the average today is eight cigarettes a day.
The interactive map below shows the air quality of each state. Click on the state to find out its AQI and cigarette equivalent.
About the calculator
From a young age, people are told smoking is injurious to health. Its impact on lung health and its carcinogenicity are well known.
On the other hand, it is difficult to explain to the common man how harmful air pollution can be, considering the complex nature of pollutants.
To address this gap, physicist Richard Muller and his daughter Elizabeth Muller introduced a new approach in 2015. They began to compare the health impact of ambient air pollution with that of cigarettes.
Following extensive research, the duo — scientists from Berkeley Earth — arrived at a rough value conversion of the primary pollutant fine particulate matter (PM2.5) to cigarettes equivalent. Their study showed that the health impact of a day’s exposure to 22 parts per million (ppm) of PM2.5 is equivalent to that from smoking one cigarette.