<P> NASA's Lau has proposed that as the aerosol particles rise on the warm, convecting air, they produce more rain over northern India and the Himalayan foothill, which further warms the atmosphere and fuels a "heat pump" that draws yet more warm air to the region . This phenomenon, Lau believes, changes the timing and intensity of the monsoon, effectively transferring heat from the low - lying lands over the subcontinent to the atmosphere over the Tibetan Plateau, which in turn warms the high - altitude land surface and hastens glacial retreat . His modeling shows that aerosols--particularly black carbon and dust--likely cause as much of the glacial retreat in the region as greenhouse gases via this "heat pump" effect . </P> <P> Exposure to particulate matter for a long time can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer and heart attacks . The Global Burden of Disease Study for 2010, published in 2013, had found that outdoor air pollution was the fifth - largest killer in India and around 620,000 early deaths occurred from air pollution - related diseases in 2010 . According to a WHO study, 13 of the 20 most - polluted cities in the world are in India; however, the accuracy and methodology of the WHO study was questioned by the Government of India . </P> <P> Over a million Indians die prematurely every year due to air pollution, according to the non-profit Health Effects Institute . Over two million children--half the children in Delhi--have abnormalities in their lung function, according to the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute . </P> <P> With the last 15 years of economic development and regulatory reforms, India has made progress in improving its air quality . The table presents the average emissions sampled at many locations, over time, and data analysed by scientific methods, by multiple agencies, including The World Bank . For context and comparison, the table also includes average values for Sweden in 2008, observed and analysed by same methods . Over 1995--2008, average nationwide levels of major air pollutants have dropped by between 25--45 percent in India . </P>

Aims and objectives of air pollution in india