Gorakhpur — Pollution Health Impact
1,208 days of CPCB data (2021–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Uttar Pradesh · Live Gorakhpur AQI →
Living in Gorakhpur is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 2.4 cigarettes a day — roughly 878 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 4.7 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 Gorakhpur meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG58 days (4.8%)
- IT-455 days (4.6%)
- IT-3288 days (23.8%)
- IT-2149 days (12.3%)
- IT-1474 days (39.2%)
- Above IT-1184 days (15.2%)
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 Gorakhpur's 4.7 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 3.2y
- COPD: 0.7y
- Child ALRI: 0.7y
- Lung cancer: 0.2y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Gorakhpur page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 807 (66.8%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 184 (15.2%)
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 Gorakhpur compares to nearby cities
What the numbers say
Overview
Living in Gorakhpur carries a daily PM2.5 dose that Berkeley Earth compares to 2.4 cigarettes a day. Over a year, residents absorb the equivalent of 878 cigarettes.
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 4.7 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 58 of 1,208 days (4.8%); 184 days (15.2%) 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 4.1/day — and eases in July (1.3/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 807 days (66.8%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.