Switch to EVs could help India prevent up to 1.7 million deaths by 2050: Report

Summary:
A new International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) study estimates that India could prevent nearly 1.7 million premature deaths and about 97,200 childhood asthma cases by 2050 by transitioning to zero-emission road transport. Vehicle pollution currently causes around 90,000 premature deaths and 15,300 paediatric asthma cases annually, with Delhi-NCR bearing a disproportionately high burden. The report highlights that accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles by 2045 could significantly improve air quality and public health, particularly in heavily polluted urban regions. 

India could avert nearly 1.7 million premature deaths and around 97,200 cases of childhood asthma by 2050 if the country achieves zero-emission road transport, according to a new study by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

At present, vehicle-related air pollution contributes to approximately 90,000 premature deaths and 15,300 new paediatric asthma cases in India every year, with Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) carrying a disproportionately high share of the health burden.

Although the NCR is home to only about 5% of India’s population, it accounts for 23% of road transport-related childhood asthma cases. As of 2024, India ranks second only to China in premature deaths linked to transport emissions. The ICCT report, Health Benefits of Zero-Emission Transport through 2050: India, suggests that accelerating the transition to fully electric vehicles by 2045 could substantially reduce these health impacts.

In Delhi, population-weighted exposure to PM2.5 emissions from road transport reached 13 µg/m³ in 2024—more than 2.5 times the World Health Organization’s recommended guideline for total PM2.5 exposure from all sources.

During 2024, the NCR recorded around 8,100 premature deaths, representing 9% of the national total, along with nearly 3,500 new paediatric asthma cases, or 23% of all such cases in India, despite accounting for just 5% of the country’s population.