Delhi, consistently ranked among the world’s most polluted cities, faces severe air quality challenges, especially during the winter months.
The health implications of air pollution in the capital and across the world are severe and far-reaching. Research has shown that air pollution is responsible for approximately 8.1 million deaths worldwide, including the deaths of over 7,00,000 children under five.
PM2.5, which includes tiny particles from vehicle emissions, industrial activities, and crop burning in neighbouring states, is a major concern. These particles penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, leading to a host of respiratory and cardiovascular issues.
When mixed with other pollutants, PM 2.5 poses a significant threat to the health of its population, with children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions being the most vulnerable.
Health experts are sounding the alarm, highlighting a direct link between sustained air pollution and the heightened risk of life-threatening events.
Dr Gaurav Goel, Director & Head, Neurology, Neurosciences, Medanta, Gurugram said air pollution and climate change are deeply linked to stroke, and the evidence supporting this connection is scientifically robust.
“Pollutants like PM2.5 penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammation and damaging blood vessels. This increases the risk of blood clots, which can lead to strokes,” Goel explained.
The doctor noted that his hospital has observed a rise of 20% in stroke cases among patients affected by air pollution over the past few years.
Dr Akshay Budhraja, Senior Consultant & HOD, Respiratory & Sleep Medicine, Aakash Healthcare called pollution a “slow poison” whose prolonged exposure leads to a wide range of diseases.
“The damage happening inside your body due to exposure to such pollutants is so subtle but progressive that people usually don’t blame pollution for being the reason of their unexplained health problems like diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancers, obesity, dementia, coronary artery disease(CAD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is like a slow poison,” he said.
For children, long-term exposure to polluted air can lead to developmental issues, asthma, and even cognitive impairments. In the elderly, air pollution exacerbates existing heart and lung conditions, increasing mortality rates.
Speaking on prevention measures, the health experts said the decrease in pollutant levels, through personal efforts and at the institutional level may represent a large opportunity for stroke reduction when applied over the entire population.
“Staying indoors during high pollutant events, using N95 masks while outdoors, reducing exercise in areas with high pollutants, avoiding high pollutant zones, and installing air purifiers and central air cleaning systems are some of the measures used at the individual and institutional level to protect the at-risk population,” Dr Ritu Jha, Director & HOD - Neurology, Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad, said.
Delhi’s pollution crisis demands immediate attention to safeguard public health. Precautionary measures at both individual and community levels, coupled with stronger governmental interventions, are crucial to mitigating the adverse health impacts of air pollution.
Why have past measures failed?
Over the past few years both the central and state governments have taken a series of measures to curb the menace of pollution. These include the odd-even vehicle scheme, regulation of construction activities, large-scale deployment of water sprinklers etc. However, these measures, by and large, have failed to improve the situation.
According to noted Environmentalist Avikal Somvanshi, most of these are emergency measures, meant to bring the pollution down from very severe to severe. “These measures are just there to provide a temporary relief. These do nothing to remove the sources of pollution. For that, we need a long-term plan.”
Citing the success of previous plans to move the city’s public buses from diesel-powered to CNG-powered, Somvanshi said, “We now need to move beyond this to electric-powered electric transport. This should extend to private vehicles as well.”
He also stressed the importance of the city’s factories moving to cleaner sources of fuel as most are still hooked to coal and other traditional fuels. “The government needs to make alternative fuel sources like LPG more affordable so it makes business sense. No one will switch to cleaner fuel if it costs thrice as much as traditional fuel.
Is the Court’s intervention a hope?
As Delhi’s air quality continues to deteriorate with winter on the horizon, the Supreme Court has once again stepped in, issuing a stern warning to Punjab and Haryana for failing to control stubble burning, a major cause of the capital’s worsening pollution. In a sharp rebuke, the court called the inaction by the states “absolute defiance” of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directives and summoned Haryana’s Chief Secretary for an explanation on October 23.
The Supreme Court has long played a pivotal role in shaping Delhi’s pollution control measures. Over the years, it has enforced landmark decisions, including the regulation of vehicle emissions, the relocation of polluting industries, and the sealing of businesses contributing to harmful air quality. Yet, despite these efforts, critics argue that the pollution levels have only worsened, raising questions about the effectiveness of court interventions.
During a recent hearing, the court also expressed frustration with the CAQM for not enforcing the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act effectively. It highlighted the urgent need for ground-level action, particularly in rural areas where crop residue burning persists despite awareness campaigns and incentives to adopt alternatives.
Further, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Chairperson, Justice Prakash Shrivastava, added that the upcoming festival season, vehicular emissions, and unfavourable weather will further worsen the already dangerous Air Quality Index (AQI).
“The ambient air quality has crossed the threshold limit, and as responsible citizens, we must take this issue seriously. Last year, we witnessed severe pollution during winter, and it is imperative that we act now to prevent a similar crisis,” Justice Shrivastava said.
The Supreme Court has cautioned that without immediate, decisive actions to curb stubble burning and other pollution sources, Delhi could face an unprecedented environmental and health emergency. Despite years of reform, the air quality crisis in the capital persists, threatening the well-being of millions each winter.
Artificial Rain: Is it the solution?
Human progress is all about finding the right balance between developing human activity and preserving planet resources.
Notably, Delhi’s over 3 crore population is exposed to unhealthy levels of PM 2.5 – the most harmful pollutant - emanating from multiple sources.
Air pollution, which kills more than 7 million people every year, is the biggest environmental health risk of our time and in India, more than 15 lakh deaths are recorded every year which are directly or indirectly related to it.
Even as the government has taken some desperate measures in the past few years, one such step which is much talked about is ‘artificial rain’. The Delhi government has been contemplating cloud seeding as a potential solution to the city’s air pollution problem.
Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Friday urged the Centre to convene an urgent meeting with stakeholders to evaluate the feasibility of cloud seeding technology. But it is pertinent to mention here that the implementation of the cloud seeding technology requires clearance from various Central government agencies.
But can it be a solution for Delhi? The first obstacle that any government would have to face is that cloud seeding technology is not a cost-effective method. Moreover, the pollution levels remain high in the capital for almost 4-5 months and tackling the problem through artificial rain can be very expensive.
Let’s understand it through an example: the city residents must have always seen the air quality improving after a brief spell of rain. Developed countries that use this technology to control air or dust pollution have got the same results. The problem is the episodic effect of artificial rain.
The pollution levels again rise within a few days of the rain. But the results seen at other places cannot define the success rate of artificial rain in Delhi, until and unless it is not fully implemented.
Air pollution is hard to mitigate since it is a multi-dimensional problem -- industry, vehicular, biomass/waste burning, and dust all contribute significantly, and each has its own political, regulatory, and technical challenges.
What is the science behind artificial rain?
This is a technique which involves injecting silver iodide, potassium iodide, dry ice liquid propane, or salt into the clouds through helicopters or planes. These chemicals alter some natural processes inside the cloud and subsequently, they increase the ability of clouds to effect rain. As the condensed water droplets come down they also bring down pollutants in the air. The method was first used in 1946 in Massachusetts, USA, by American research chemist and meteorologist Vincent Joseph Schaefer.
How are others tackling air pollution?
Air pollution is not just Delhi’s problem but it has remained a serious health concern in several other metropolitan cities around the globe. One of our neighbours showed a drastic improvement in tackling the menace -- China.
As China’s economy grew in the past three decades, it gradually became the world’s largest automobile producer and consumer. But all of this development came at a cost. The country began facing the detrimental impacts of increased oil consumption, leading to air pollution.
In early 2000, Beijing began a campaign to tackle all sources of pollution -- from coal combustion to construction to household fuel burning. The results were good which were seen by the entire world during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The country had even used artificial rain technology at that time for some period.
However, soon after in the next few years, the dark clouds of air pollution yet again came back haunting China, and this time the country was damn serious to put an end to this problem.
The Capital Beijing announced a five-year action plan in September 2013 in which it introduced a raft of new measures including better regulation of polluting activities, factories relocating from populated areas, and government providing subsidies to farmers to discourage agricultural burning.
Beijing’s budget to fight air pollution jumped from just over 3 billion yuan (US$434 million) in 2013 to more than 18 billion yuan (US$2.6 billion) in 2017. It was a war against air pollution which it won with flying colours.
It is not just Beijing but several big cities around the globe are fighting this battle in their own ways.
Breathe Warsaw was an initiative launched to clean the air in Poland’s capital which had become a home to 36 of the European Union’s 50 most-polluted cities.
Warsaw now has 165 air sensors across the city, the largest network in Europe, and Breathe Warsaw will use them to develop an air quality database, allowing officials to better understand pollution sources.
Similarly, PM2.5 levels in the South Korean capital Seoul are about twice those of other major cities in developed countries. In 2020, the city announced it would ban diesel cars from all public sector and mass transit fleets by 2025.
Delhi too needs to find its own ways to tackle the problem with a long-lasting solution.
Few precautionary measures to mitigate the health impacts of pollution
Air Quality Monitoring: Use air quality apps or websites to stay informed about pollution levels, and avoid outdoor activities during high pollution periods.
Indoor Air Protection: Keep windows closed on high pollution days, and use air purifiers to reduce indoor pollutants.
Personal Protective Measures: Wearing masks, particularly N95 respirators, can help filter out harmful particles when air quality is poor.
Reduce Exposure: Limit time spent near high-traffic areas or industrial zones