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Research led by the University of Oxford has found that rapid economic growth brought major gains in access to electricity and cleaner cooking in India, but growing reliance on coal-fired power has contributed to worsening outdoor air pollution and a sharp rise in urban air pollution-related deaths. The study is published in Nature Cities.

Rapid economic growth in India since 2000 has enabled millions of people to move toward cleaner cooking fuels and technologies, reducing exposure to household air pollution. But this growth has also driven a nearly fourfold increase in electricity demand. According to the new study, more than three-quarters (76%) of this demand was supplied by coal, accompanied by a sharp rise in sulfur dioxide (SO₂) emissions. This has increased concentrations of sulfate aerosols and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), leading to a rise in deaths caused by urban air pollution.

The findings reveal contrasting public health consequences of India's economic and energy transition: declining risks from pollution inside homes alongside increasing exposure to polluted outdoor air.

Study lead Dr. Basudev Swain (Department of Physics, University of Oxford at the time of the study, now Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany) said, "This is not simply a story of development making pollution worse. Rising incomes have enabled a major transition toward cleaner household energy, with important health benefits.

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