Exhaust from vehicles on Gurugram’s roads caused one in four of the new asthma cases linked to air pollution among the Delhi satellite town’s children and teenagers in 2025 and made them miss an estimated 94,859 school days through illness, equal to a full academic year for 431 students, according to a study released on October 5 by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).
Private cars were the biggest source of traffic emissions, and Gurugram now has 323 cars for every 1,000 residents, one of the highest rates in India, a statement by the ICCT noted.
More than 80 per cent of emissions came from newer BS IV and BS VI vehicles, suggesting that age-based bans on older vehicles have largely done what they can.
The study was launched after the closing plenary discussion by Amitabh Kant, former G20 sherpa and Rajesh Verma, Chairperson, CAQM at Urban Adda on day 1 of the three-day conference happening at New Delhi.
“Vehicles are the number one source of pollution in Delhi NCR, both directly and through secondary pollution. CAQM has directed states to introduce incentive schemes to promote electric vehicles, and Delhi has rolled out a very attractive EV policy. Addressing Delhi NCR’s air pollution will require a concerted, coordinated solution,” Verma said.
“Air pollution does not respect state boundaries. The air Delhi breathes is shared with what happens not just in Delhi, but in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Sonipat, and well beyond. Delhi alone cannot clean Delhi’s air. The future of transport is electric. The question for India is not whether it electrifies, but whether we lead this transformation or follow it,” Amitabh Kant, Former G20 Sherpa, said.
The research found that switching every vehicle registered in Gurugram to electric would deliver three-quarters of the possible health gains, but the rest depends on the roughly 0.5 million vehicles that drive into the city every day from Delhi and other parts of the NCR.
Gurugram is among India’s most polluted cities but has never had an official study of where its pollution comes from, and the findings arrive as vehicle registrations hit a seven-year high with electric vehicles at only 4.3 per cent of new sales, and as Delhi’s new EV policy moves school buses and two- and three-wheelers to electric.
“Children are particularly vulnerable to health impacts of air pollution, with road transport an important contributor. Gurugram, as a rapidly growing city, has an opportunity to build on its existing transport-emission control measures by accelerating the transition away from internal combustion engine vehicles and addressing emissions from vehicles entering the city from neighboring regions. Together, these measures can help maximize the health benefits of cleaner transport for Gurugram’s residents,” said Moorthy Nair, Researcher ICCT and co-author of the study.
“For transport, the vision is clear: we have to get there through zero tailpipe emissions. The health impacts of air pollution on children can no longer be ignored,” said Amit Bhatt, India Managing Director, ICCT.
The findings highlight the need to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles across vehicle segments, including two- and three-wheelers and school buses. Measures to address floating vehicles operating within Gurugram will also be important to achieve the full potential of emission and health benefits.