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Delhi’s worsening air quality has brought the state's action under scrutiny. The Supreme Court reprimanded the Delhi government for delay in implementing stage 4 measures under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP-4).
The apex court emphasised November 18, 2024 that no scaling down of these measures would be permitted without prior approval, highlighting the gravity of the public health emergency.
On November 18, 2024, 10 cities — Delhi (AQI 494), Gurugram (AQI 469), Bahadurgarh (AQI 453), Bhiwadi (AQI 447) Dharuhera (AQI 447), Ghaziabad (AQI 438), Hapur (AQI 431), Sonipat (AQI 430), NOIDA (AQI 423) — had recorded severe air quality with AQI above 400.
So, Delhi’s is India’s most polluted city. This means that while the people with existing diseases would be seriously impacted, even the healthy people would be affected, according to the daily air quality bulletin published by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
In 2024, despite recording its cleanest air in six years during the monsoon season (January-August), Delhi’s air quality began declining in early October and worsened post Diwali. At present, the capital's air is hazardous, with several areas registering AQI near or above 500. Dwarka Sector 8 recorded an AQI of 500, with Najafgarh close behind at 497.
Areas like Ashok Vihar, Bawana, Mundka and Punjabi Bagh reported AQI of 495, while Nehru Nagar, Rohini, Wazirpur, Aya Nagar and Patparganj shot past 490.
These alarming levels have led to the enforcement of stage 4 emergency anti-pollution measures under GRAP-4. These include ban on BS-IV or older diesel medium and heavy goods vehicles registered in Delhi.
Trucks and light commercial vehicles from outside Delhi, except those carrying essential goods, are also barred. Schools, except for Grades 10 and 12, have shifted to online classes. Public and private offices are operating at 50 per cent capacity, with the rest working remotely.
While the air quality crisis in Delhi is grabbing media headlines, just 3 per cent of the 240 cities monitored by CPCB real-time, were breathing air with AQI in the range of “zero to 49” and categorised as “good”.
Residents in around 90 per cent of Indian cities were breathing air with AQI in the range of 51 to 100, 101-200, 201-300, 301-400 and 401-500. These could lead to health impacts such as minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people, breathing discomfort to the people with lungs, asthma and heart disease and respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.
In fact, air pollution is one of the leading environmental health hazards in India, playing a major role in causing fatal diseases, according to the State of India’s Environment in Figures report, which uses data from Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). IHME identified three types of risks contributing to these diseases: Behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic.
Risk factors causing mortality
Of around 10.6 million deaths linked to fatal diseases, 33 per cent or one in every three deaths were attributed to environmental and occupational risks, with air pollution being a leading factor. Poor metabolism accounted for another 36 per cent of such cases, underscoring the combined impact of lifestyle and environmental factors on public health.
Moreover, air pollution has also been identified as the leading risk factor for fatal diseases in 22 states and Union territories. These include northern states like Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh; southern states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana; and northeastern states including Assam, Manipur, Sikkim and Tripura.
Despite widespread scientific evidence linking air pollution to health issues, the government has refrained from acknowledging its full impact.
In August 2024, the Union Minister of State for Health, Anupriya Patel, stated in the Parliament that there was no conclusive data directly correlating air pollution with deaths. However, hospitals in Delhi are seeing a surge in cases of respiratory distress, headaches and eye irritation, as reported by Down to Earth.
Poor air quality is reducing the life expectancy of people in Delhi by almost 7.8 years, according to the Air Quality Life Index report by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago. However, Supreme Court’s intervention reflects the urgent need for stricter anti-pollution measures.