Hisar — Pollution Health Impact
1,672 days of CPCB data (2019–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Haryana · Live Hisar AQI →
Living in Hisar is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 3.8 cigarettes a day — roughly 1,393 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 7.7 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 Hisar meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG1 days (0.1%)
- IT-431 days (1.9%)
- IT-3127 days (7.6%)
- IT-2196 days (11.7%)
- IT-1490 days (29.3%)
- Above IT-1827 days (49.5%)
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 Hisar's 7.7 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 5.3y
- COPD: 1.1y
- Child ALRI: 1.1y
- Lung cancer: 0.3y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Hisar page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 1,513 (90.5%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 827 (49.5%)
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 Hisar compares to nearby cities
- Similar exposurePurnia4.1 cigs/day · 8.4 y lost · +0.3 vs Hisar
- Similar exposureBulandshahr4.1 cigs/day · 8.4 y lost · +0.3 vs Hisar
- Cleaner peerAraria3.8 cigs/day · 7.7 y lost · -0.0 vs Hisar
- Dirtier peerDhanbad3.8 cigs/day · 7.8 y lost · +0.0 vs Hisar
What the numbers say
Overview
Hisar's air pollution translates to about 3.8 passive cigarettes per resident per day. That's 1,393 cigarette-equivalents annually, inhaled without choice.
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 7.7 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 1 of 1,672 days (0.1%); 827 days (49.5%) 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 7.3/day — and eases in August (1.9/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 1,513 days (90.5%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.