Delhi air quality has once again plunged to dangerous levels, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) at AIIMS touching 421 — falling in the ‘severe’ category — on Sunday, November 2, just two weeks after Diwali.
According to researchers at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), deaths linked to particulate matter pollution have remained consistently high over the years, often surpassing those caused by hypertension or diabetes, based on the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data.
“Air pollution is not merely an environmental concern but a major public health emergency that requires science-driven interventions across all polluting sectors to bring down emissions effectively,” said Manoj Kumar, an analyst at CREA.
He further warned that without significant improvement in Delhi’s air quality, pollution-related illnesses such as respiratory diseases, heart ailments, stroke, and lung cancer will continue to increase.
