Jalandhar — Pollution Health Impact
2,456 days of CPCB data (2018–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Punjab · Live Jalandhar AQI →
Living in Jalandhar is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 2.7 cigarettes a day — roughly 973 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 5.3 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 Jalandhar meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG3 days (0.1%)
- IT-485 days (3.5%)
- IT-3389 days (15.8%)
- IT-2399 days (16.2%)
- IT-11,106 days (45.0%)
- Above IT-1474 days (19.3%)
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 Jalandhar's 5.3 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 3.6y
- COPD: 0.7y
- Child ALRI: 0.7y
- Lung cancer: 0.2y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Jalandhar page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 1,979 (80.6%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 474 (19.3%)
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 Jalandhar compares to nearby cities
- Similar exposurePāli2.9 cigs/day · 5.8 y lost · +0.3 vs Jalandhar
- Similar exposureKarnal2.9 cigs/day · 5.8 y lost · +0.3 vs Jalandhar
- Cleaner peerKolhapur2.7 cigs/day · 5.3 y lost · -0.0 vs Jalandhar
- Dirtier peerVisakhapatnam2.7 cigs/day · 5.3 y lost · +0.0 vs Jalandhar
What the numbers say
Overview
Jalandhar's air pollution translates to about 2.7 passive cigarettes per resident per day. That's 973 cigarette-equivalents annually, inhaled without choice.
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 5.3 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 3 of 2,456 days (0.1%); 474 days (19.3%) 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 4.0/day — and eases in August (1.8/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 1,979 days (80.6%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.