Bāgalkot — Pollution Health Impact
1,643 days of CPCB data (2020–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Karnataka · Live Bāgalkot AQI →
Living in Bāgalkot is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 1.4 cigarettes a day — roughly 494 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 2.4 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 Bāgalkot meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG53 days (3.2%)
- IT-4250 days (15.2%)
- IT-31,162 days (70.7%)
- IT-289 days (5.4%)
- IT-181 days (4.9%)
- Above IT-18 days (0.5%)
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 Bāgalkot's 2.4 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 1.6y
- COPD: 0.3y
- Child ALRI: 0.3y
- Lung cancer: 0.1y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Bāgalkot page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 178 (10.8%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 8 (0.5%)
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 Bāgalkot compares to nearby cities
- Similar exposureGadag1.5 cigs/day · 2.7 y lost · +0.1 vs Bāgalkot
- Similar exposureTiruchirappalli1.4 cigs/day · 2.5 y lost · +0.1 vs Bāgalkot
- Cleaner peerAriyalur1.3 cigs/day · 2.4 y lost · -0.0 vs Bāgalkot
- Dirtier peerMysuru1.4 cigs/day · 2.5 y lost · +0.0 vs Bāgalkot
What the numbers say
Overview
Bāgalkot's air pollution translates to about 1.4 passive cigarettes per resident per day. That's 494 cigarette-equivalents annually, inhaled without choice.
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 2.4 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 53 of 1,643 days (3.2%); 8 days (0.5%) 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 1.6/day — and eases in September (1.1/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 178 days (10.8%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.