AQI has no direct link to lung diseases, says minister Kirti Vardhan Singh in Rajya Sabha. | Image:
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Fresh Delhi: As Delhi-NCR continues to grapple with unsafe air quality, Union Minister of Speak for Atmosphere Kirti Vardhan Singh sparked nationwide concern after he told the Parliament that there may be no such thing as a conclusive details organising an instantaneous correlation between higher air quality index (AQI) ranges and lung diseases.
Singh on Thursday, in a written reply within the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, nonetheless acknowledged that air air pollution is and not utilizing a doubt one of the factors for respiratory points and associated diseases.
The minister’s whisper got right here in after BJP MP Laxmikant Bajpayee questioned if the authorities modified into aware that reviews and medical assessments have confirmed that prolonged exposure to unsafe AQI ranges in Delhi-NCR is leading to lung fibrosis, an irreversible reduction in lung ability.
BJP parliamentarian moreover wished to enquire whether lung elasticity among citizens of Delhi-NCR has very a lot reduced to almost 50 per cent when in contrast to other folks living in cities with correct AQI ranges and extra asked if the authorities has any components to assign millions of residents of Delhi-NCR from lethal diseases following the air air pollution.
Specialised training applications
Singh, in his defence, acknowledged that specialised training applications had been created on air air pollution for a wide fluctuate of stakeholders, at the side of programme managers, medical officers, nurses, nodal officers, workers at sentinel net sites, frontline workers equivalent to ASHAs, inclined populations respect females and childhood, and occupationally exposed groups equivalent to traffic police and municipal workers.
He added that details, education, and dialog (IEC) materials addressing diseases connected to air air pollution had been ready in English, Hindi, and varied regional languages. The National Programme on Native climate Replace and Human Successfully being (NPCCHH) has moreover developed tailored IEC whisper material for assorted inclined groups, Singh neatly-known.
Singh extra talked about that the India Meteorological Department presents early warning programs, indicators, and air quality forecasts to states and cities, helping the effectively being sector and communities—at the side of inclined populations—in getting ready for air air pollution occasions.
Highlighting authorities initiatives, Singh acknowledged the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana promotes the effectively being of females and childhood by supplying tremendous cooking fuel within the set aside of liquefied petroleum gasoline. He moreover pointed out that the Swachh Bharat Mission, which specializes in making improvements to cleanliness in urban and rural areas, contains the belief of “Swachh Hawa” (tremendous air) as a key issue.
Delhi Chokes, Other folks Suffocate
As iciness objects in all over northern India, dense fog continues to envelop Delhi and diverse states, reducing visiblity within the early morning hours. The nationwide capital skilled heart-broken air quality on Friday morning, with the general Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 387 at around 8 am, inserting it within the ‘very heart-broken’ category, in accordance with details from the Central Air pollution Management Board (CPCB).
Air quality within the city deteriorated extra when in contrast to Thursday, when the AQI stood at 373 at 4 pm. Enormous aspects of the city remained enveloped in toxic smog.
In accordance to CPCB details, several areas, at the side of Vivek Vihar (436), Punjabi Bagh (412), R.K. Puram (436) and Nehru Nagar (425), saw extra deterioration in air quality and fell into the ‘severe’ category. Wazirpur moreover recorded ‘severe’ air quality with an AQI of 406.
Earlier, Delhi Atmosphere Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa performed shock inspections at several petrol pumps, at the side of those at the Delhi-Gurugram border and Janpath, to appear at compliance with the ‘No PUC, No Gasoline’ directive.
He interacted with pump workers and suggested them to enforce the foundations while remaining aloof and courteous.
Bhupendra Yadav AQI Claim
Earlier, Union Atmosphere Minister Bhupendra Yadav claimed that Delhi-NCR did not expertise any “severe+” air air pollution days in 2025, in accordance along with his assertion within the Rajya Sabha. He attributed this to the Graded Response Action Conception (GRAP) and reinforced policy measures, asserting that centered interventions and improved on-ground implementation have helped enhance air quality over the years.
Yadav highlighted that the choice of days with an Air Quality Index (AQI) under 200 elevated to 200 in 2025, up from 110 in 2016. He moreover talked about that the average AQI in Delhi from January to November 2025 modified into 187, when in contrast to 213 in 2018, and emphasized that the city did not file a single “severe+” AQI day for the length of the 365 days.
On the opposite hand, reliable air quality details from NCR monitoring stations implies that aspects of the space, at the side of Delhi, did scrutinize extraordinarily heart-broken air stipulations, contrasting with the minister’s claims.
