Cartagena/New Delhi: Studies and scientific evidence have proven that there is a direct link between air pollution and adverse health outcomes during peak air pollution days and increased incidents of acute respiratory disease in India, a top Lancet Countdown official has said.
The statement by Executive Director at Lancet Countdown, Marina Belen Romanello, came as a report by the Indian government stating that there is “no direct correlation between air pollution and mortality” was discussed on the sidelines of a recently concluded World Health Organisation (WHO) conference in Colombia.
The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change is a multidisciplinary collaboration monitoring the evolving health profile of changing climate.
Speaking to PTI, Romanello highlighted the long-term health impacts of air pollution, including lung cancer, an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, and stroke, among others.
“There is very definite evidence on how harmful air pollution is for people’s health at all ages throughout their life course. That is why it is so important that governments acknowledge the science and clean the air.”
“Because that will result in a healthier and more productive population,” Romanello said.
In July 2024, India’s Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel told the Rajya Sabha that there is “no conclusive data available in the country to establish a direct correlation of death/disease exclusively due to air pollution”.
Air pollution is one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments and associated diseases, she said in a written reply.
“Health is impacted by a number of factors, including food habits, occupational habits, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity etc of individuals apart from the environment,” the reply read.
Stressing that “there is no safe level of air pollution,” Romanello further stated that “all exposure to air pollution, regardless of the concentration, will enter our lungs and damage our health, blood system and internal organs.”
“The WHO has made recommendations on safer thresholds of air pollution, and we know that in India, by and large, these are exceeded in most cities and rural areas. So, it is having a direct impact on the health of local population and also on the economy and labour productivity. The damage it can do to a country is quite widespread,” Romanello said.
In her reply, Patel had also mentioned that the government of India has taken “several steps to address the air pollution issue” and that the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with clean LPG.
However, a think-tank report published in 2024 revealed 41% of the Indian population still relies on wood, cow dung or other biomass as cooking fuel. This practice cumulatively emits around 340 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the environment annually, accounting for approximately 13% of India’s greenhouse gas emissions, it said.
According to the WHO, around 47 million health workers and advocates are calling for cleaner air to curb pollution-related deaths.
Over 50 countries, cities and organisations pledged new commitments at the WHO’s second conference in the last week of March on air pollution and health in Cartagena to tackle air pollution, protect public health, and help halve its deadly impacts by 2040.
The goal is backed by a petition from 47 million health professionals, patients and advocates demanding that clean air be made a public health priority, according to the WHO.
Speaking at the plenary session of the recently concluded WHO conference, its director Dr Maria Neira reiterated that air pollution is a leading risk factor for both mortality and morbidity worldwide.
She said that it disproportionately harms low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and that 90% of air pollution-related deaths occur in these countries.
A previously published WHO report presented by Dr Neira at the session stated that air pollution impacts multiple organs, including the brain, lungs, heart, skin, pancreas, bones, liver, kidneys, blood vessels and the reproductive system.
Some of the diseases associated with air pollution include lung cancer, pneumonia, decreased lung function or growth, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, poor bone metabolism, liver and digestive tract cancer, high blood pressure, systemic inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, myocardial infarction, arrhythmia, congestive heart failure, and premature birth, among others.
Reacting to the issue being discussed on a global platform, Indian parliamentarian and deputy leader of the Indian National Congress in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, said that the Ministry of Health should evolve parameters to record air pollution as a significant contributing factor to death.
“We cannot afford to be in the dark. Air pollution is a silent and dangerous assassin. The Ministry of Health should evolve parameters to record air pollution as a significant contributing factor to death,” Gogoi said in New Delhi.
The Union Health and Environment Ministries’ persistent denial of a direct correlation between air pollution and mortality clearly contradicts their own internal findings, one of the keynote speakers at WHO conference last week and founder of Warrior Moms movement group, Bhavreen Kandhari, said.
She stated that despite substantial evidence from studies such as the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) 2019 report attributing 1.7 million deaths to air pollution, the government’s public stance remains dismissive.
“This contradiction not only weakens scientific research but also jeopardises public health by neglecting necessary policy actions. The government’s inconsistent position mirrors past incidents where environmental health crises were downplayed or ignored, leading to repeated public health failures,” Kandhari said in Cartagena.
“Such parallels highlight a troubling pattern of inaction and denial that continues to compromise the well-being of citizens,” she said.
The WHO, at the recent conference in Colombia, highlighted that air pollution causes nearly seven million deaths annually, urging countries and global leaders to take action for clean air.
