Puducherry — Pollution Health Impact
1,377 days of CPCB data (2021–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Puducherry · Live Puducherry AQI →
Living in Puducherry is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 1.5 cigarettes a day — roughly 547 cigarettes a year. On average, that chronic exposure shortens life expectancy by about 2.7 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 Puducherry meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG29 days (2.1%)
- IT-4312 days (22.7%)
- IT-3692 days (50.3%)
- IT-2208 days (15.1%)
- IT-1120 days (8.7%)
- Above IT-116 days (1.2%)
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 Puducherry's 2.7 year estimate.
- Heart + stroke: 1.9y
- COPD: 0.4y
- Child ALRI: 0.4y
- Lung cancer: 0.1y
Worst and best months
Drill into full monthly pattern on the seasonal Puducherry page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 344 (25.0%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 16 (1.2%)
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 Puducherry compares to nearby cities
- Similar exposureNagapattinam1.6 cigs/day · 3.0 y lost · +0.1 vs Puducherry
- Similar exposureKozhikode1.6 cigs/day · 2.9 y lost · +0.1 vs Puducherry
- Cleaner peerGadag1.5 cigs/day · 2.7 y lost · -0.0 vs Puducherry
- Dirtier peerDavanagere1.5 cigs/day · 2.8 y lost · +0.0 vs Puducherry
What the numbers say
Overview
Living in Puducherry carries a daily PM2.5 dose that Berkeley Earth compares to 1.5 cigarettes a day. Over a year, residents absorb the equivalent of 547 cigarettes.
The data story
EPIC's AQLI research attributes about 2.7 life-years lost per person from this chronic exposure. The WHO Air Quality Guideline was met on just 29 of 1,377 days (2.1%); 16 days (1.2%) exceeded even the 75 µg/m³ Interim Target-1 threshold.
Why this pattern
The burden concentrates in January — when the average cigarette-equivalent climbs to 1.8/day — and eases in April (1.2/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 344 days (25.0%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.