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Air Pollution In India
Delhi was the most polluted city during 2024-25, recording the highest annual PM2.5 levels and extended periods of "severe" air quality in winter while Patna was the second-most polluted city, according to a new analysis by Climate Trends. Climate Trends is a research-based consulting and capacity-building initiative that aims to bring greater focus on issues of environment, climate change and sustainable development. Based on Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) air quality monitoring data, this report analysed how meteorological conditions influence the persistence of PM2.5 pollution across six major Indian cities such as Delhi, Patna, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. Using CPCB air quality data (2024-2025) combined with meteorological clustering, the study distinguished emission-driven pollution from weather-driven variability. "Delhi continues to face the most severe pollution crisis nationally with the highest annual average PM2.5 levels and the longest stretches of ..
Expressing concern over rising pollution levels, the Congress on Sunday demanded an urgent review and upgradation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, 2009, and asserted that they must be enforced as well as monitored more effectively everywhere. Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "PM 56-inch has been exposed, PM 2.5 is for real." Ramesh also said the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) itself needs a laser-like focus on PM2.5. "PM2.5 that is, particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers or lower measured in micrograms per cubic meter of air as emerged as the cause for a severe environment-public health crisis across the country," the former environment minister said on X. A study published in The Lancet Planetary Health in December 2024, based on data from 655 districts over 2009-2019, found that every 10 microgram per cubic metre increase in PM2.5 concentration leads
The government is encouraging mechanised sweeping and planting of bushes to control dust in cities, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. Responding to a supplementary during Question Hour, Union Environment minister Bhupender Yadav said to control dust pollution, a city-specific plan is prepared. Under the plan, "greening" is carried out based on the requirement of a particular city. He said bushes help control spread of dust. The way roads are being constructed at present, states are being encouraged to go for mechanised sweeping. "In NCR too, (municipal) corporations were encouraged for mechanised sweeping to control dust," he said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said pollution is no longer just an environmental issue but a national health emergency, and asserted that Parliament must discuss it as well as the government must act. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha also said that the Union Budget must put real resources behind real solutions. Gandhi said over the last few days, he has read thousands of messages from Indians about what pollution is doing to their lives. "What stood out was fear - fear for children, for parents, for tomorrow - felt by families in cities across India," Gandhi said in a Facebook post. "Pollution is no longer just an environmental issue, it is a national health emergency. Parliament must discuss it. The government must act. And this Budget must put real resources behind real solutions. Indians are not asking for reports or rhetoric. They are asking for clean air," he said. Gandhi last week had said that people are paying a heavy price for air pollution with their hea
Air pollution is arguably the biggest public health crisis India has faced since the pandemic and will continue to worsen each year unless urgent action is taken, a UK-based Indian-origin pulmonologist warned, noting that a looming tsunami of airway disease remains largely underdiagnosed and untreated. Speaking to PTI, multiple senior doctors practising in the UK asserted that a vast, hidden burden of undiagnosed airway disease is "building beneath the surface" and its incoming wave will exact a heavy, lasting toll on Indian citizens and its healthcare system. They linked the global rise in cardiovascular diseases over the past decade to increasing exposure to toxic emissions from urban transport, including automobiles and aircraft, particularly in cities across India, the UK and beyond, rather than obesity alone. Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday admitted that nearly 40 per cent of the pollution in Delhi is caused by the transport sector due to dependence on fossil
Amid severe pollution levels in the city, the Delhi High Court on Monday advised lawyers and parties-in-person to avail hybrid mode of appearance through video conferencing in their matters listed before it. Delhi choked under a thick blanket of smog on Monday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 498, which falls in the higher spectrum of 'severe' category A circular issued by the registrar general of the high court said, in view of the prevailing weather conditions, I have been directed to convey that if convenient, members of the bar/ parties-in-person may avail hybrid mode of appearance through video conferencing facility in their matters listed before the hon'ble courts. On Sunday, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant also advised members of the Bar and parties-in-person to avail hybrid mode of appearance through video conferencing in matters listed before the Supreme Court in view of the prevailing weather conditions. Presently, the high court functions through a hybrid
There is no conclusive data available in the country to establish a direct correlation of death/disease exclusively due to air pollution, Minister of State for Health, Prataprao Jadhav, told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Air pollution is one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases, Jadhav said in a written reply. The health effects of air pollution are a synergistic manifestation of factors, which include food habits, occupational habits, socioeconomic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc., of the individuals. The government of India has taken several steps to address air pollution issues, he said. The National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) has been implemented with an objective to create awareness, capacity building, health sector preparedness and response and partnerships related activities on climate sensitive health issues since 2019, according to the reply. Under NPCCHH, the government of India has develope