Context
Recently, India ranked 176th among 177 countries in the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2026, scoring 22.46. Its weak performance in environmental health, air quality and biodiversity has renewed concerns, despite methodological debates.
Explanation
- The EPI is a composite index developed by Yale University to assess national environmental outcomes.
- The 2026 edition covers 47 indicators across 12 issue categories and 177 countries.
- Indicators fall under three objectives: Environmental Health, Ecosystem Vitality and Climate Change.
- Countries are scored from 0 to 100 using a distance-to-target method.
- India ranked 176th, above only Laos; Estonia ranked first.
- The index highlights pollution, ecosystem and public-health risks.
- Rankings across different EPI editions are not directly comparable because datasets and methodology change.
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