Motihari — Pollution Health Impact
969 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 Motihari AQI →
Living in Motihari is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 3.5 cigarettes a day — roughly 1,268 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 7.0 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 Motihari meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG3 days (0.3%)
- IT-436 days (3.7%)
- IT-3157 days (16.2%)
- IT-2105 days (10.8%)
- IT-1239 days (24.7%)
- Above IT-1429 days (44.3%)
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 Motihari's 7.0 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 4.8y
- COPD: 1.0y
- Child ALRI: 1.0y
- Lung cancer: 0.3y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Motihari page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 773 (79.8%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 429 (44.3%)
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 Motihari compares to nearby cities
What the numbers say
Overview
Living in Motihari carries a daily PM2.5 dose that Berkeley Earth compares to 3.5 cigarettes a day. Over a year, residents absorb the equivalent of 1,268 cigarettes.
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 7.0 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 3 of 969 days (0.3%); 429 days (44.3%) 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 6.6/day — and eases in July (1.5/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 773 days (79.8%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.