Estimating health and economic burden of PM10 pollution in Agra, India using AirQ plus and VSL approaches

Air pollution affects both the environment and the economy. This study aimed to analyse the annual and seasonal concentrations of respirable suspended particulate matter (PM10) and evaluate the monetary loss from health risk caused by PM10 in Agra, India, for the year 2022. PM10 levels were monitored using ground-based methods. Health impacts were estimated via the AirQ+ model. Seasonal trends were analyzed using Mann-Kendall and Sen's slope tests, and economic costs were calculated using the Value of a Statistical Life (VSL) approach. Post-monsoon had the highest seasonal concentration, followed by winter, summer, and monsoon. Proportions of attributable exposure to PM10 were estimated to be 41.91% for post-neonatal all-cause mortality, 65.6% for bronchitis in children, 78.4% for chronic bronchitis, 65.65% for lung cancer, 79.2% for respiratory diseases, and 55.38% for ischemic heart disease (IHD) in adults. We observed significant (p < 0.05) decreasing trends in summer and an increasing trend in post-monsoon. The annual economic burden was estimated at US$ 95.56 per person, US$ 202.58 million for Agra, and extrapolated US$ 135.40 billion for India. The expense amount is approximately 4% of the gross domestic product (GDP), 46% of all tax revenues, and around 130% of the healthcare budget of India. The study underscores the urgent need for pollution control to safeguard health and ease the heavy economic burden locally and nationally.