Raipur — Pollution Health Impact
731 days of CPCB data (2022–2024), translated through WHO 2021, Berkeley Earth and EPIC AQLI methods. Based on CPCB station data, 2016–present.
Chhattisgarh · Live Raipur AQI →
Living in Raipur is the population-level health-equivalent of smoking 2.4 cigarettes a day — roughly 885 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 Raipur meet?
24-hour PM2.5 compliance vs WHO 2021 targets.
- AQG9 days (1.2%)
- IT-448 days (6.6%)
- IT-3103 days (14.1%)
- IT-2110 days (15.0%)
- IT-1409 days (56.0%)
- Above IT-152 days (7.1%)
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 Raipur'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 Raipur page →
High-risk days for vulnerable residents
- Days above WHO IT-3 (37.5 µg/m³) — pregnancy & infant risk elevated
- 571 (78.1%)
- Days above WHO IT-1 (75 µg/m³) — high risk for children under 5
- 52 (7.1%)
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 Raipur compares to nearby cities
- Similar exposureKolhapur2.7 cigs/day · 5.3 y lost · +0.2 vs Raipur
- Similar exposureNayāgarh2.7 cigs/day · 5.2 y lost · +0.2 vs Raipur
- Cleaner peerGummidipoondi2.4 cigs/day · 4.7 y lost · -0.0 vs Raipur
- Dirtier peerTumkur2.4 cigs/day · 4.7 y lost · +0.0 vs Raipur
What the numbers say
Overview
Living in Raipur carries a daily PM2.5 dose that Berkeley Earth compares to 2.4 cigarettes a day. Over a year, residents absorb the equivalent of 885 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 9 of 731 days (1.2%); 52 days (7.1%) 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 3.0/day — and eases in August (1.7/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 571 days (78.1%) above WHO IT-3 meaningfully lowers exposure — especially for pregnant residents and children under 5.