Air pollutionin big Indian cities may be contributing to the growing number of acute respiratory illness(ARI) cases in hospitals. The rise in these cases seems linked to worsening air quality, but the exact medical connection is still not fully clear. Delhi alone recorded over two lakh ARI cases between 2022 and 2024 and thousands of those patients needed hospital care, Times of India reported citing the Health Ministry.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, junior health minister Prataprao Jadhav said polluted air acts as a “triggering factor” for respiratory diseases. He added that the worsening air quality in cities is being closely tracked through a growing national monitoring system, the report said.
ALSO READSupreme Court asks govt to revisit action plan amid Delhi air pollution woes: ‘Have you brought any effective changes?
Sharp spike in hospital visits
Government data shows a steady rise in ARI cases in Delhi’s six central hospitals – from 67,054 emergency cases in 2022 to over 69,000 in 2023 and more than 68,000 this year. Hospital admissions also increased from 9,878 to 10,819 in the same period, as per TOI report.
Chennaiand Mumbaireported similar trends, with thousands rushing to hospitals during peak pollution days. The Health Ministry noted that the severity of polluted air’s impact depends on several factors – such as diet, job type, income level, immunity and past medical conditions – meaning some groups are at much higher risk than others, the report mentioned.
To better track these trends, the National Centre for Disease Control(NCDC) now runs more than 230 surveillance sites in 30 states and union territories. A digital ARI tracking system was also launched in August 2023 under the Integrated Health Information Portal.
Delhi wakes up to another toxic morning
Meanwhile, Delhi woke up to another toxic morning on Wednesday. Most monitoring stations recorded AQI levels in the ‘Severe’ or ‘Very Poor’ categories at 7:30 am, showing a clear rise in pollution levels. Several major hotspots crossed the 400 mark.
ALSO READGRAP-4 restrictions imposed in Mumbai as air quality worsens; how is it different from Delhi?
According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Chandni Chowk recorded the worst air quality at an AQI of 434. Other severely polluted locations included Nehru Nagar (436), Rohini (417), Vivek Vihar (415) and Bawana (410), mainly in crowded or industrial areas.
NSIT Dwarka recorded the cleanest air in the city at an AQI of 215, which still falls under the ‘Poor’ category but is better than the rest. Delhi Airport Terminal 3 stood at 303, which is considered ‘Very Poor’, according to CPCB. |
