Bettiah — Pollution Health Impact
810 days of CPCB data (2021–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Bihar · Live Bettiah AQI →
Living in Bettiah is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 4.0 cigarettes a day — roughly 1,476 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 8.2 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 Bettiah meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG2 days (0.2%)
- IT-421 days (2.6%)
- IT-356 days (6.9%)
- IT-2103 days (12.7%)
- IT-1226 days (27.9%)
- Above IT-1402 days (49.6%)
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 Bettiah's 8.2 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 5.6y
- COPD: 1.2y
- Child ALRI: 1.2y
- Lung cancer: 0.3y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Bettiah page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 731 (90.2%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 402 (49.6%)
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 Bettiah compares to nearby cities
- Similar exposureBhagalpur4.4 cigs/day · 9.1 y lost · +0.4 vs Bettiah
- Similar exposureChapra4.4 cigs/day · 9.1 y lost · +0.4 vs Bettiah
- Cleaner peerKanpur4.0 cigs/day · 8.2 y lost · -0.0 vs Bettiah
- Dirtier peerMuzaffarnagar4.0 cigs/day · 8.2 y lost · +0.0 vs Bettiah
What the numbers say
Overview
Bettiah's air pollution translates to about 4.0 passive cigarettes per resident per day. That's 1,476 cigarette-equivalents annually, inhaled without choice.
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 8.2 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 2 of 810 days (0.2%); 402 days (49.6%) exceeded even the 75 µg/m³ Interim Target-1 threshold.
Why this pattern
The burden concentrates in November — when the average cigarette-equivalent climbs to 6.1/day — and eases in July (2.0/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 731 days (90.2%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.