How coal power increases infant mortality

More than 70% of India’s power generation comes from coal, a dependence that comes with serious health consequences, according to research. In a study, Geoffrey Barrows of the École Polytechnique and others find that the expansion of coal-based power generation can have adverse effects on infant mortality through increased pollution levels in the form of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

Coal power plants are responsible for around 60% of NO2 emissions in the country, according to their estimates. The researchers use gridded pollution data between 1996-2015 and district-level infant mortality rates to show that the expansion of coal power generation in India has increased infant mortality significantly. Specifically, they show that 1 gigawatt (GW) rise in coal power generation capacity increases NO2 levels by 7.6% and, consequently, infant mortality by 14%. In contrast, a similar increase in power capacity in the US results in only a 4.8% increase in infant mortality.