Toxic Air: Delhi Records 200,000+ Respiratory Cases in Two Years, Govt Data Shows

Between 2022 and 2024, Delhi's toxic air led to over 200,000 cases of acute respiratory illnesses in just six state-run hospitals, with more than 30,000 requiring hospitalization.

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Delhi Toxic Air

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.

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Delhi Among the World's Most Polluted Capitals

Delhi, with its sprawling metropolitan region of 30 million residents, is regularly ranked among the world's most polluted capitals.

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Health Ministry Links Pollution to Rising Respiratory Ailments

India's health ministry told parliament on Tuesday that air pollution was one of the triggering factors for respiratory ailments.

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Spike in Emergency Room Visits Due to Pollution

“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.

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Over 30,000 Patients Hospitalised in Three Years

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.

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PM2.5 Levels Touch 60 Times the UN Safety Limit

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.

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Millions of Deaths Linked to Pollution, Study Shows

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.

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Children Face Higher Risk of Severe Infections

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.

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