Angul — Pollution Health Impact
405 days of CPCB data (2023–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Odisha · Live Angul AQI →
Living in Angul is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 3.6 cigarettes a day — roughly 1,307 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 7.2 years per resident.
Cigarette-equivalence (Berkeley Earth 2015) and life-years lost (EPIC AQLI) are peer-reviewed communication heuristics, not clinical diagnoses. Full sources linked on the methodology page.
Headline impact numbers
Cigarettes/day by year
Annual average cigarette-equivalent.
Clean-air days (NAQI ≤ 50) by year
Days when NAQI stayed in the “Good” band.
Which WHO tier did Angul meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG0 days (0.0%)
- IT-412 days (3.0%)
- IT-335 days (8.6%)
- IT-242 days (10.4%)
- IT-1103 days (25.4%)
- Above IT-1213 days (52.6%)
WHO AQG (15) · IT-4 (25) · IT-3 (37.5) · IT-2 (50) · IT-1 (75) µg/m³ (24-hour PM2.5).
Life-years lost, by disease
Applying WHO's global attribution (68/14/14/4) to Angul's 7.2 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 4.9y
- COPD: 1.0y
- Child ALRI: 1.0y
- Lung cancer: 0.3y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Angul page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 358 (88.4%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 213 (52.6%)
Source: WHO 2021 AQG interim-target risk framework; WHO 2024 ambient-air fact sheet identifies children under 5 and pregnant residents as the most vulnerable groups.
How Angul compares to nearby cities
- Similar exposureDurgapur3.9 cigs/day · 8.0 y lost · +0.3 vs Angul
- Similar exposureGaya3.9 cigs/day · 7.9 y lost · +0.3 vs Angul
- Cleaner peerRohtak3.6 cigs/day · 7.2 y lost · -0.0 vs Angul
- Dirtier peerCharkhi Dādri3.6 cigs/day · 7.2 y lost · +0.0 vs Angul
What the numbers say
Overview
Angul's air pollution translates to about 3.6 passive cigarettes per resident per day. That's 1,307 cigarette-equivalents annually, inhaled without choice.
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 7.2 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 0 of 405 days (0.0%); 213 days (52.6%) exceeded even the 75 µg/m³ Interim Target-1 threshold.
Why this pattern
The burden concentrates in January — when the average cigarette-equivalent climbs to 6.2/day — and eases in July (1.6/day). Globally, WHO attributes 68% of PM2.5 deaths to heart disease and stroke, with the remainder split across COPD, childhood ALRI, and lung cancer.
What to do with this
Cigarette-equivalence is a communication tool, not a medical verdict. Still, the direction is clear: time indoors with a HEPA unit and a good-fit mask outdoors during the 358 days (88.4%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.