Science
by AFP Staff Writers
New Delhi (AFP) Dec 3, 2025
New Delhi recorded more than 200,000 cases of acute respiratory illnesses at six state-run hospitals between 2022 and 2024, government numbers showed, highlighting the adverse effects of toxic air on health.
Delhi, with its sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents, is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted capitals.
India’s health ministry told parliament on Tuesday that air pollution was one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments.
“Analysis suggests that increase in pollution levels was associated with increase in number of patients attending emergency rooms,” junior health minister Prataprao Jadhav said in a written reply.
More than 30,000 people with respiratory illnesses had to be hospitalised in the three years.
Acrid smog blankets Delhi’s skyline each winter, when cooler air traps pollutants close to the ground, creating a deadly mix of emissions from crop burning, factories and heavy traffic.
Levels of PM2.5 — cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream — sometimes rise to as much as 60 times the UN’s daily health limits.
A study in The Lancet Planetary Health last year estimated that 3.8 million deaths in India between 2009 and 2019 were linked to air pollution.
The United Nations children’s agency warns that polluted air puts children at heightened risk of acute respiratory infections.
The health ministry, however, added that air pollution could not alone be blamed for the hospitalisations.
“Health effects of air pollution are synergistic manifestation of factors which include food habits, occupational habits, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc,” it said.
Related Links
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 – Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled “by Staff Writers” include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report’s information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.