Delhi, the proud capital of India, is today being blasted by the severest health effects of air pollution amongst the country's cities, according to the Brandon and Hommann (B&H) study carried out for the World Bank. The study concludes that some 7,500 people die a premature death every year in the city because of air pollution levels exceeding the standards set by the World Health Organization. There are an additional four million cases of hospital admissions and sicknesses annually which require medical treatment. Given the fact that the 1992 population of Delhi was 8.4 million, this figure shows the high incidence of illness occasioned by the existing levels of air pollution. Besides this, B&H estimate that there are 242 million cases of minor sicknesses as a result of air pollution every year.

The economic cost of this ill-health ranges between a whopping Rs 354-1,343 crore, depending on the assumed cost of premature deaths and medical treatment. In per capita terms, this cost translates into Rs 420-1,600 per person per year, or Rs 2,100-8,000 annually per family of five members.