Life expectancy in Delhi has gone down by 6.4 years, and a study by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has blamed air pollution for the worrying trend, reported The Times of India. However, according to the scientists, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are likely to have the maximum number of premature deaths. Uttar Pradesh topped the list of states in number of deaths from pollution-related causes.

The IITM scientists worked with researchers from the National Centre for Atmospheric Research in Colorado on 2011 census data to reach their conclusions regarding premature mortality in the country from exposure to particulate matter. According to the report, 'Premature Mortalities due to PM2.5 (finer particulate matter) and Ozone Exposure in India', while 15% of pollution-related deaths occurred in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra accounted for 10%, followed by West Bengal (9%) and Bihar (8%).

On ozone pollution deaths, the study revealed that Uttar Pradesh was again at the top of the list with 18% of such cases in the state. Bihar was a close second with 11%, followed by West Bengal (9.5%) and Maharashtra (7%).

In 2011, at least 5.7 lakh people in India died from diseases caused by exposure to particulate matter, and 12,000 died because of ozone exposure-related conditions, the scientists said. "Although these results are in line with other global estimates, such as the World Health Organization and the Global Burden of Diseases, there's no physical way to tell who has actually been killed by air pollution," IITM scientist Sachin Ghude admitted. D M Chate, C Jena, Gufran Beig, S Fadnavis and Prakash Pithani, all from IITM, were also involved in the research.